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Historical Perspective
Joyce Lawson
Professor Dr. Phillip R. Neely, Jr.
PAD 510 Introduction to Public Policy Analysis
July 21, 2013

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Historical Perspective
Discuss the historical perspective of the time when each policy was discussed or implemented. What was the context of the problem of the day and the urgency for the policy?
The Policies Recent American health care and foreign policies were discussed over a span of two different administrations. President Bill Clinton began addressing the gaping problems in the health care system in 1993 and President Barack Obama continued to seek national health solutions in 2009. President G.H. Bush was considered adept at crafting strong foreign policies. George W. Bush experienced the same sentiment until close to the end of his presidency.
Historical perspective of the health care policies President Clinton’s health care policy, also known as the Health Security Act was designed by a task force chaired by his wife Hilary Rodham Clinton Health care reform had been a staple of Clinton’s presidential campaign and he fully intended to deliver on his promise with a package palatable to both parties and to the public. On September 22, 1993 he addressed Congress and unveiled a proposal for employers to be mandated to provide health insurance for all their employees. President Obama directed Congress in 1999 to reform the United States health care system. Their efforts resulted in the Affordable Health Care for America Act which was never signed into law.
Historical perspective on foreign policies President George H.W. Bush decided not to harshly criticize the Chinese government for killing pro-democracy demonstrators. Instead he worked on keeping steady relations. In
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Panama he removed Manuel Noriega from the presidency and prosecuted him for drug smuggling. He continued to have a reserved but improved relationship with the Soviets who were seeking a new era in foreign relations. President George W. Bush defeated Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan in retaliation for an attack on the World Trade Center in New York City by terrorists living in that country. He then invaded Iraq where he believed there were weapons of mass destruction. His information proved to be faulty and the exposure of the true facts dealt a major blow to his presidency and legacy.
The context of the health care policies President Clinton declared that Americans needed to be secured in their most basic need of health care and that the badly broken health care system needed to be fixed. He observed that despite the availability of numerous heath care professionals, healthcare was too expensive, bureaucratic and wasteful (Johnson, 2013, para. 2). He argued that thirty seven million Americans were without health care insurance, and the United States was the only modernized democracy that lacked universal health care coverage for its citizens (Pfiffner, n.d.). The House abandoned their proposed health care bill, which had been galvanized by President Obama in favor of the amended version of the Senate’s bill called the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010.
The context of the foreign policies The United States of America needed to show themselves as a superpower in the world at a time where nations were drastically changing their governmental style. Many nations looked to the U.S. for help. The nation also had to protect itself from foreign predators and insurgents.
The urgency for the health care policies
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President Clinton concluded that giving every American health security should be an urgent priority. Pfiffner (n.d.) wrote that “he gave the task force a 100-day target to produce the Administration proposal” (para. 1). The task force was briefed on the seriousness of the situation and in four months they had held hundreds of meetings with non-governmental and governmental organizations. President Obama realized the need for universal health care to insure the millions of young adults under sixty five who did not have health insurance. The recession placed many former insured out of work and without health care. The poor had no access to health care.
The urgency for foreign policies China had dealt a sever blow to the advance of democracy. Noriega was drug running in the U.S. and Kuwait was being invaded. President George W. Bush had to appease the nation’s call for retaliation and assert its status and power on the world stage.
Analyze the social, economic, and political environments for the times the policies were discussed or implemented.
Social environment for health care For Americans without health care insurance the situation was dismal. Insurance coverage was costly and unaffordable for employees leaving the workforce as well as the poor, and others who were unemployed or underemployed. Regardless of this fact, the populace did not want health care that was mandated and administered by so called “big government”; they favored a different solution. Many young adults felt that “Obamacare” would only increase premiums and render health care even less affordable than it currently was. Many provisions of said health care Act have not
Running Head: HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE 5 yet been put in place. Political opponents of “Obamacare” are working to postpone or defund the Act.
Social environment for foreign policies Americans thought that Chinese citizens needed help to promote democracy in their country and demanded that the dictator Noriega be removed. Al-Qaeda had to be exterminated around the world as it constantly threatened American interests. At the same time many in America did not approve of going to war with Iraq during the last Bush administration.
Economic environment of health care President Clinton’s economic team was concerned that changes required by the newly proposed health care policy would be sweeping and cost too much. They argued that a more incremental approach would be more favorable (Pfiffner, n.d.). Both President and Mrs. Clinton disagreed and pursued an immediate plan for government subsidies for the poor and employer coverage for employees. The public has constantly decried the cost of health care coverage especially the unemployed.. Cobra insurance though available was also unaffordable to many citizens. Many employers were already providing insurance but “Obamacare’s” employer mandate was instituted to prevent employers from dropping their workers from coverage, once the individual mandate provision took effect (Drum, 2013).
Economic environment of foreign policies George H.W. Bush sought to protect America’s interests in the Middle East while he assisted the country of Kuwait in the Gulf War. The borders of the U.S. became more unfriendly to drug

Running Head: HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE 6 traffickers and the drug trade after Noriega’s defeat. President George W. Bush decided to safeguard America’s interests and the nation as a whole from incursions by Al-Qaeda. Political environment of health care The Democrats in Congress approved of approved of President Clinton’s health care plan. The Republicans as well as the Democrats on Capitol Hill were also enthusiastic about the health care package when it was presented to them. The president made it clear that any health bill that was passed must have provisions for universal health care, even if meant government coercion in the form of mandatory participation and premium caps (Pfiffner, n.d). President Obama’s health care bill was designed to satisfy most of the national interests groups. Employers were satisfied that they did not have to pay more for coverage. Hospitals and those insured were assured of not much of an increase if there were any, in the cost of health care.
Political environment of foreign policies Politicians opposed George H.W. Bush’s policies on China and Panama. They softened as Manuel Noriega was brought to justice. War with Afghanistan was viewed as a necessary evil but many opposed the latter Bush’s decision to invade Iraq.
Criticize each policy for its effectiveness of the time.
Health care policy President Clinton’s health care policy was not effective simply because it was never passed. The politicians did not believe it would be practical and some tried to create their own versions. The public was wary of any new sweeping government mandates and the Clinton’s were uncompromising in their efforts to leave a health care legacy.
Running Head: HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE 7 “Obamacare” has not been fully implemented and several of its mandates have been postponed. Individuals do not want to be forced to buy health insurance when they are not ready to do so. It remains to be seen how effective this policy will eventually be.
Foreign policy George H.W. Bush’s foreign policy has been built upon by successive administrations. He laid a very important foundation at a time when there many unstable governments worldwide. George H. Bush will always be remembered for his victory in Afghanistan. His rush to declare the existence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq will be the bane of his existence, but the world is better off without Saddam Hussein.

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References
American President (n.d). A Reference Resource. The Miller Center- The University of Virginia Retrieved from http://millercenter.org/president/bush/essays/biography/5
Drum, K. (2013). There’s no Need to Panic Over the Obamacare Mandate Delay. Mother Jones. Retrieved from http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2013/07/theres-no-need-panic-over-obamacare-mandate-delay
Early, D. (July, 17, 2013). Why do we need Obamacare? Tucson Citizen.com. Retrieved from http://tucsoncitizen.com/obamacare-news/2013/07/17/why-do-we-need-obamacare/
Johnson, R.T. (2013, February, 24). Bill Clinton’s 1993 Attempt at Health Care Reform: Almost Sinking a Presidency. The History Rat. Retrieved from http://historyrat.wordpress.com/2013/02/24/1993-health-care-reform-almost-sinking-a-presidency/
Pfiffner, J. P. (n.d). President Clinton’s Health Care Reform Proposals of 1994. Executive- Legislative Relations. Retrieved from http://www.thepresidency.org/storage/documents/President_Clintons_Health_Care_Reform_Proposals.pdf