Hillary Clinton’s team wanted her to get credit for Obamacare from the beginning.
In a 2010, Clinton’s aide Neera Tanden emailed her boss that she was pitching the New York Times a story “on how so many of your [Clinton’s] ideas are in the healthcare bill and it is closest to your proposal.”
“[The Times reporter] is biting on the idea, though, of course, I can’t guarantee anything,” Tanden added. “I’ve held out for him, but if he doesn’t bite I can go to the Post or elsewhere. have [sic] all I need on how the bill represents your campaign proposals and the like.”
Hillary Clinton spearheaded her husband’s healthcare reform initiative in 1994, but the bill went nowhere in Congress. During the 2008 primary campaign, Hillary’s plan included the individual mandate to purchase health insurance while Obama opposed it. The mandate became a key feature of Obamacare.
