For Love of Politics: Bill and Hillary Clinton: The White House Years by Sally Bedell Smith, published Oct. 23, 2007: on Health Care

Hillary Clinton: Hillary appointed 8 days after inauguration to health cmte

Bill and Hillary’s joint decision-making at the beginning of his presidency was as overt as it would ever be in the White House. “He would say, ‘Hillary thinks this. What do you think?’” said one insider. “They really were a partnership. She was the absolutely necessary person to bounce things up against. I sensed a tremendous need for each other.

Gore was the one most affected by Bill’s reliance on his wife. It was a given in the White House that everyone would ”just have to get used to“ the fact that Hillary, along with Bill and Gore, had to ”sign off on big decisions.“

Hillary Clinton: Worked on education & welfare in Arkansas but not healthcare

But Hillary wanted to lead national health-care reform. It would be the "signature initiative" of the 1st term, restructuring the entire health-insurance system and extending coverage to the 37 million uninsured. It would allow Hillary to control the fate of $800 billion in annual spending--1/7 of the economy. What's more, Bill made the extravagant promise that he would introduce comprehensive health-care legislation within the 1st 100 days of his presidency. The Clintons were swinging for the fences, attempting to secure a place in the history books with a sweeping policy that would rival anything Roosevelt had done. Their stunning ambition was matched only by the naivet‚ and impracticality of their expectations and strategies.

Hillary Clinton: Condemns insurers as motivated by greed