Together again: business, government, and the quest for cost control

Corporate America leads the pack in the collective anxiety attack over health care costs. But will the business community add its considerable political power to the movement for national health reform? Conventional wisdom suggests not: businessmen seldom rally for collective concerns, have traditionally been biased against government action, and have diverse interests. This article guardedly offers grounds for greater optimism about corporate participation, arguing that the proper institutional context can help businessmen to see their preferences as consistent with health reform. Business groups have already proven critical to the issue development stage, where a dedicated group of corporate health reformists were key to getting reform on the national agenda. Business may also respond to strong leadership from President Clinton and assist in the legislation of national health reform. Yet the price of this corporate support is a decidedly conservative slant to the proposed legislation.