Politics and a Pragmatic Paradigm for Health Reform, Part 1

By Senator Tom Daschle | October 2, 2007

In 1991, the political landscape was changed by a teacher from Pennsylvania who ran--and won--by saying, if every prisoner has a lawyer, every American should have a doctor. I remember being one of the sitting senators who made presentations to Senator-elect Harris Wofford in the hopes that he would work with us on our plan. The excitement was palpable--and optimism was high. I don’t think a freshman senator has gotten that kind of attention from his colleagues since. And it helped set the stage for the presidential election and debate over health reform in 1993 and 1994.

This article was originally published in Healthcare Financial Management Association.