Word: gop
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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Congressional Republicans want the electorate to know the GOP is more hawkish than the White House in the war on drugs. Two weeks after President Clinton announced a campaign that focused on reducing not only the supply but also the demand for drugs, the GOP struck back with an old standby: Just say "No mas" -- legislation that would greatly beef up the U.S. presence on the border in order to halt the inflow of drugs...
...problem," says TIME correspondent William Dowell. "Internationally, drug control is moving in the direction of complementing interdiction with education campaigns and rehabilitation programs to reduce demand for drugs, and even financial incentives for impoverished farmers to switch from drug plants to alternative crops." But with midterm elections looming, the GOP initiative may restrain any inclination in the Clinton administration to try alternative strategies...
...Given that the idea is likely to rankle those on the right, it's surprising to find it was effectively ordered by the GOP -- as part of a health insurance law passed by Congress in 1996. Now they can rest easy as the White House goes through the messy and contentious process of actually trying to implement it. As for the tracking number, there are two proposals: a) Create a new code for everyone based on your date and location of birth and hire hundreds of bureaucrats to dish them out; and b) use your Social Security number. No prizes...
Should you have the right to sue your HMO or health plan over improper medical treatment? Yes, say the Democrats, because without the right to litigate there's no way for patients to hold health plans accountable for their decisions. No, says the GOP -- the right to sue would simply divert money away from health care and into the pockets of wealthy trial lawyers. "The issue of litigation is the primary difference between the parties' competing health plan reform bills," says TIME Washington correspondent Karen Tumulty. "This being an election year, they're going to fight this one down...
...GOP's bill, formulated in response to an earlier White House-backed package, reflects a substantial turnabout from Republican opposition to the reforms proposed by President Clinton last fall. "Republicans running for reelection were finding that their party's apparent support of the insurance companies was working against them," says Tumulty. Both parties now agree on reforms that would speed access to specialist care, make HMOs pay for unnecessary emergency room treatment when it was reasonable for the patient to assume there was a crisis, give patients access to more information on treatment options, and subject disputed coverage decisions...