Better Off Dead?

Lawmakers act as if modest reform is still alive, but it may do more harm than good

The pitch sounded so straightforward and practical in those TV commercials aired by the Republican Party over the summer. "We can make health insurance affordable now, without the Clinton government-run system . . . If you lose your job, you won't lose your coverage . . . Let's do it now!" That message, polls show, has resonated with the 85% of Americans who already have health insurance. Their priority, by and large, is to make their own coverage more secure and affordable, rather than to finance elaborate subsidies for the uninsured. And now that they have beaten back the major overhaul...

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