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 considerab le political power to the movement for national health reform? Convent ional wisdom suggests not: businessmen seldom rally for collective con cerns, have traditionally been biased against government action, and h ave diverse interests. This article guardedly offers grounds for great er optimism about corporate participation, arguing that the proper ins titutional context can help businessmen to see their preferences as co nsistent with health reform. Business groups have already proven criti cal to the issue development stage, where a dedicated group of corpora te health reformists were key to getting reform on the national agenda . Business may also respond to strong leadership from President Clinto n and assist in the legislation of national health reform. Yet the pri ce of this corporate support is a decidedly conservative slant to the proposed legislation.