Since 1981, the Miller Center’s Presidential Oral History Program has conducted extensive interviews with participants in presidential administrations, members of Congress, and key figures outside the executive branch of the U.S. government. These interviews seek to capture the insights and experience that these individuals have gained through their work with each administration, creating a first-hand record that documents the development of the modern presidency. Many of these interviews address health care policy. This index provides a guide to those resources, identifying individuals who discussed health-related matters. It also provides the main health policy topics and keywords, so you can easily search the transcript.

JIMMY CARTER: The Carter oral history collection contains interviews that document the administration’s effort to pass legislation designed to control the growth of hospital costs. Although ultimately unsuccessful, this remains one of the only direct presidential efforts to constrain health care cost growth. The interviews also address the ongoing negotiations with Senator Ted Kennedy regarding national health insurance legislation, and the administration’s eventual break with Kennedy. They also explore internal administration dynamics such as the policy roles of the White House staff and Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare Joe Califano.

• Bertram Carp and David Rubenstein, Deputy Assistant for Domestic Affairs and Policy (national health insurance, strategy)
• Jimmy Carter, President of the United States (hospital cost containment, limited on national health insurance)
• Stuart Eizenstat, Assistant to the President for Domestic Affairs and Policy (campaign, national health insurance, hospital cost containment, interest groups, labor, strategy)
• Hamilton Jordan, Advisor; White House Chief of Staff (limited on hospital cost containment, strategy, Joe Califano and HEW)
• Alfred E. Kahn, Chairman of the Council on Wage and Price Stability; Advisor to the President on Inflation (health care inflation, competition, administration dynamics, hospitals, Maryland HSCRC)
• Alonzo McDonald, Special Trade Representative; Director of the White House Staff (hospital cost containment strategy)
• James McIntyre, Office of Management and Budget Director (national health insurance, budget, inflation)
• Richard Moe and Michael Berman, Chief of Staff to the Vice President; Counsel; Deputy Chief of Staff to the Vice President (national health insurance, hospital cost containment, interest groups, strategy)
• Frank Moore, Assistant to the President for Congressional Liaison (extensive on hospital cost containment, national health insurance, catastrophic coverage, mental health)
• Jody Powell, White House Press Secretary (very brief on Kennedy national health insurance bill and politics)
• Gerald M. Rafshoon, White House Communications Director (Califano as HEW secretary)
• Charles Schultze, Chairman, Council of Economic Advisers (national health insurance, hospital cost containment, Califano’s role)
• Anne Wexler, Assistant to the President for Public Liaison (hospital cost containment, interest groups)

RONALD REAGAN: The Reagan oral history collection has relatively little material on health care but touches on topics including the administration’s response to the AIDS epidemic, Reagan’s own health, and the limited but important health policy developments of the period.

• Otis Bowen, Secretary of Health and Human Services (public health, AIDS, catastrophic health insurance, health care reform – Diagnostic Related Groups/Prospective Payment System, mentions Swine flu)
• Edwin Harper, Assistant to the President for Policy Development; Deputy OMB Director (limited on Nixon and national health insurance, block grants)
• John Hutton, White House Physician (AIDS, NIH, Reagan’s health/surgery)
• James Miller, Director, Office of Management and Budget (limited on NIH privatization, opposition to catastrophic health insurance bill)

GEORGE H. W. BUSH: More extensive than the Reagan collection in its coverage of health policy issues, the George H.W. Bush oral history documents the administration’s struggles to develop a health care reform plan, its focus on fighting drug abuse, and the continuing HIV/AIDS crisis.

• William P. Barr, Assistant Attorney General; Deputy Attorney General; Attorney General (HIV and immigration, War on Drugs)
• David Q. Bates, Secretary to the Cabinet; Assistant to the President; Special Assistant to the Chief of Staff (limited on health care)
• Michael Boskin, Chair of the Council of Economic Advisors (health care costs, criticism of Clinton CEA, EPA, Public Health Service)
• Phillip D. Brady, Assistant to Staff Secretary; Staff Secretary (limited on health care plan)
• Richard Darman, Director of the Office of Management and Budget (limited on health care plan)
• Edward J. Derwinski, Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA health system, PHS)
• Bobbie Greene Kilberg, Deputy Assistant to the President for Public Liaison; Director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs (health care reform, Sununu and AMA, ACT-UP protest at ADA ceremony)
• Frederick McClure, Assistant for Legislative Affairs (abortion)
• James P. Pinkerton, Deputy Assistant to the President for Policy Planning (President Bush’s disinterest in health care)
• J. Danforth Quayle, Vice President of the United States (health care reform, costs, catastrophic coverage bill)
• Sigmund Rogich, Assistant to the President; Ambassador to Iceland (lack of urgency on domestic issues including health care)
• Thomas Scully, Associate Director of the Office of Management and Budget (extensive on Bush health care plan; DSH payments, Medicaid, Medicare, abortion)
• Dr. Louis Sullivan, Secretary of Health and Human Services (extensive on AIDS; NIH, PHS, health care reform, Thornburgh defeat)
• John H. Sununu (06/2000) White House Chief of Staff (Americans with Disabilities Act)
• Richard Thornburgh, Attorney General (health care reform, ADA, 1991 PA Senate campaign)
• J. Clayton Yeutter, Secretary of Agriculture; Chairman of the Republican National Committee; National Policy Advisor (1991–92 health care reform proposals)

BILL CLINTON: The Clinton oral history includes extensive coverage of all aspects of the administration’s 1993-1994 health care reform plan, including the policy development process, the relationship with Congress, the role of the health care industry, and the reasons for the failure of the legislation. It also addresses the aftermath of the reform plan, including the 1994 midterms and the administration’s success with more targeted health measures such as the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Other topics including AIDS, health research funding, and reinventing government also receive attention.

• Roger Altman, Deputy Treasury Secretary (health care reform, strategy, 1992 campaign)
• Joan N. Baggett, Assistant to the President for Political Affairs (health care reform)
• Alan Blinder, Vice Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System; member of Council of Economic Advisers (extensive on health care reform, CEA perspective and role, process and strategy, press leaks, Hillary Clinton, Ira Magaziner)
• Charles Brain, Director of Legislative Affairs (health care reform, Dan Rostenkowski, Hillary Clinton, Ira Magaziner)
• Fernando Henrique Cardoso, President of Brazil, 1995-2003 (generic drug production, HIV policy)
• David Cutler, Member of Council of Economic Advisers and National Economic Council (extensive on health care reform, 1992 campaign, managed competition, hospitals, cost control, Hillary Clinton, Ira Magaziner, Medicare, CHIP, Kennedy-Kassebaum, HIPAA)
• Thomas Daschle, Senator, South Dakota (health care reform, Harris Wofford, strategy, Congress, interest groups, polling, SCHIP)
• Peter Edelman, Health and Human Services Assistant Secretary (HHS, drug and alcohol policy, public health, health care reform, Hillary Clinton, Ira Magaziner, Donna Shalala, contrast to Carter, Harry and Louise ads, interest groups, HIPAA, reorganization)
• Alvin From (2006), Domestic Policy Advisor to the Clinton Transition, Founder and CEO of the Democratic Leadership Council (1992 campaign, health care reform, transition, strategy)
• Alvin From (2007) (health care reform, transition, strategy, Hillary Clinton, DLC, John Breaux)
• William Galston, Deputy Domestic Policy Advisor (health care reform, strategy and timing, domestic policy council, NIH, stem cells, Hillary Clinton, Ira Magaziner, HHS)
• John Gibbons and Lionel Johns (2006), Assistant to the President for Science and Technology; Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (limited on health research funding, NIH, commission appointments)
• Ben Goddard, Advertising Consultant (creator of Harry and Louise ads; health care reform, California Proposition 166, Health Insurance Association of America position, polling, public opinion, grassroots campaign, strategy, Ira Magaziner, Dan Rostenkowski)
• Stanley Greenberg (2005), Pollster (1992 campaign, Bob Kerrey, Clinton approach)
• Stanley Greenberg (2007) (health care reform, strategy and timing, health care costs, timing, Hillary Clinton, Ira Magaziner, polling, 1994 midterm election)
• Frank Greer, Media Advisor (1992 campaign, 1991 Pennsylvania Senate election, strategy)
• D. Patrick Griffin, Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs (health care reform, process and strategy, Hillary Clinton, Ira Magaziner, Harold Ickes, Harry and Louise ads, Whitewater, Congress, 1994 midterm election)
• Marcia Hale, Assistant to the President and Director of Intergovernmental Affairs (health care reform, process and strategy, governors, Howard Dean, Haynes Johnson/David Broder book)
• John Hilley and Lawrence Stein, joint interview: both served as Director of Legislative Affairs (health care reform, transition, strategy, Hillary Clinton, Ira Magaziner, Ted Kennedy, HIPAA, Kennedy-Kassebaum, CHIP)
• Chris Jennings and Jeanne Lambrew, joint interview: Jennings was Deputy Assistant to the President for Health Policy; Lambrew was associate director at the Office of Management and Budget and senior health analyst at the National Economic Council (extensive on health care reform, process and strategy, Hillary Clinton, Ira Magaziner, Harold Ickes, HIPAA, CHIP)
• Elaine Kamarck, Senior Policy Advisor to Vice President Al Gore (health care reform, transition, Gore-Hillary Clinton relationship, Donna Shalala, process and strategy, Reinventing Government and health agencies, NIH)
• Mickey Kantor, Secretary of Commerce (health care reform, transition, strategy, Hillary Clinton)
• Sylvia Matthews, Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy; Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget (AIDS, pharmaceuticals, health care reform, CHIP, HIPAA)
• Thomas "Mack" McLarty III, White House Chief of Staff (health care reform, Hillary Clinton, Harold Ickes, strategy, Republican position)
• George Mitchell, Senator, Maine (health care reform, strategy, budget reconciliation, Clinton’s role, Republican position, interest groups)
• Roy M. Neel, Al Gore's 1992 Campaign Manager; Chief of Staff to the Vice President; Deputy White House Chief of Staff (health care reform, strategy)
• Bernard Nussbaum (2002), White House Counsel (health care reform, Hillary Clinton, Haitians with AIDS at Guantanamo)
• Bernard Nussbaum (2005) (health care reform, Hillary Clinton)
• Leon Panetta, OMB Director (health care reform, Hillary Clinton, Ira Magaziner, process, interest groups)
• Howard Paster, Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs (health care reform, process and strategy, Dan Rostenkowski, John Dingell)
• Bruce Reed (4/2004), Domestic Policy Advisor (health care reform, financing, strategy, reconciliation, connection to welfare reform, Moynihan, Hillary Clinton)
• Alice Rivlin, Deputy OMB Director (extensive on health care reform, transition, Hillary Clinton, Ira Magaziner, strategy, Congress, interest groups, financing)
• Robert Rubin, National Economic Council Director; Secretary of Treasury (limited on health care reform, reconciliation, strategy)
• Donna Shalala, Secretary of Health and Human Services (extensive on health care reform, HHS role, Hillary Clinton, Ira Magaziner, process and strategy, Congress, CHIP, HIPAA, also AIDS, NIH)
• Melanie Verveer, Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff to the First Lady; Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff to the First Lady (extensive on health care reform, Hillary Clinton, Ira Magaziner, Harold Ickes, task force, process and strategy, Congress, managed competition, Republican position, interest groups, CHIP, pediatric drug labeling, FDA)
• David Wilhelm, Campaign manager for Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential campaign; Chairman of the Democratic National Committee (1992 campaign, Bob Kerrey, health care reform, DNC role, Richard Celeste, strategy, Republican position, Chafee bill, labor, 1994 midterms)
• Harris Wofford, Senator (D-PA) (1991 Senate campaign, role of health care, wife’s illness, health care reform, Hillary Clinton, Congress, Donna Shalala, 1994 campaign, CHIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH: The George W. Bush oral history includes extensive discussions of the administration’s addition of a prescription drug benefit to Medicare and the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). Controversies such as federal funding for stem cell research are also addressed.

• Joshua Bolten, Part I, White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy; Director of the Office of Management and Budget; Chief of Staff (Medicare, PEPFAR)
• Joshua Bolten, Part II (Medicare)
• Joshua Bolten, Part III (Medicare, PEPFAR)
• John Bridgeland, Deputy Assistant to the President; Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council; Assistant to the President; Director of the USA Freedom Corps (AIDS/PEPFAR)
• Nicholas E. Calio, Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs (Medicare, PEPFAR, stem cell research)
• Mark R. Dybul, United States Global AIDS Coordinator (AIDS/PEPFAR)
• Evan A. Feigenbaum, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia; Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Central Asia; Member of the Secretary of State’s Policy Planning Staff for East Asia and the Pacific (PEPFAR)
• Ari Fleisher, White House Press Secretary (stem cell research)
• Judd Gregg, Senator (R-NH) (Medicare)
• J. Dennis Hastert, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives (Medicare)
• Keith Hennessey, Deputy Director of the National Economic Council; Director of the National Economic Council (Medicare)
• Jay Lefkowitz, General Counsel of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB); Deputy Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy; Special Envoy for Human Rights in North Korea (AIDS/PEPFAR, Medicare, stem cell research)
• Colin L. Powell, Secretary of State, and Richard L. Armitage, Deputy Secretary of State (PEPFAR)
• Karl Rove, Senior Advisor to the President; White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy (Medicare, stem cell research)
• John Snow, Secretary of the Treasury, with Chris Smith, Chief of Staff for the Secretary of the Treasury (Medicare reform, Medicare Part D)
• Margaret Spellings, Director of the Domestic Policy Council; Secretary of Education (AIDS/PEPFAR, Medicare Part D)
• Kevin Sullivan, Assistant Secretary for Communications and Outreach at the U.S. Department of Education; Assistant to the President for Communications (AIDS/PEPFAR)
• Peter Wehner, Deputy Director for Speechwriting; Deputy Assistant to the President and Head of White House Office of Strategic Initiatives (limited on Medicare, AIDS/PEPFAR)
• Karl Zinsmeister, Director of the Domestic Policy Council (AIDS/PEPFAR, stem cell research)

SENATOR EDWARD M. KENNEDY: Although not a presidential oral history, the Kennedy project documented the Senator’s many decades of involvement with health care policy and his work on the issue with every president from Lyndon Johnson to Barack Obama. Although focused on Kennedy’s work on achieving universal health insurance coverage, the project addresses a range of other health related issues from community health centers to mental health to drug policy. Together, the collection provides a sweeping first-hand account of nearly a half-century of U.S. health care policy.

• Robert Bates Oral History (5/2007), Staffer for Edward Kennedy (sickle cell anemia, lead paint)
• Robert Bates Oral History (7/2007), Staffer for Edward Kennedy (health care reform, Medicare, HMOs)
• Jeffrey Blattner Oral History, Staffer for Edward Kennedy (limited on Clinton bill and Medicare Part D)
• David Blumenthal Oral History, National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (health care reform)
• David Burke Oral History (2007), Chief of Staff to Edward Kennedy; President of CBS News (health care reform, health centers/Columbia Point)
• David Burke Oral History (2008), Chief of Staff to Edward Kennedy; President of CBS News (health care reform – philosophy, view of doctors)
• Sheila Burke Oral History, Chief of Staff to Robert Dole; Senate Finance Committee Aid (health care reform, Carter, Kennedy’s staff, Robert Dole, Republicans, Clinton bill, Medicare, Medicaid)
• Philip Caper Oral History, Staffer for Edward Kennedy (extensive on health care reform, NIH, War on Cancer, FDA)
• John Danforth Oral History, Senator, Missouri; US Permanent Representative to United Nations (health care reform, esp. Clinton and Republicans)
• Thomas A. Daschle Oral History, Senate Majority Leader; Senator, South Dakota (health care reform, Clinton, Medicare Part D)
• Michael Dukakis Oral History, Governor, Massachusetts; 1988 Democratic Presidential Nominee (health care reform, in US and MA, mental health, Nancy Kassebaum, CHIP, Nixon plan, public option, strategy)
• Stuart Eizenstat Oral History, Domestic policy advisor to Jimmy Carter (Carter, health care reform, hospital cost containment, Memphis debate, SCHIP)
• Anthony S. Fauci Oral History, AIDS Researcher (HIV/AIDS, AZT trials, NIH, FDA, AIDS and global health, Guinea worm, TB, malaria, PEPFAR, Paul Farmer)
• Judy Feder Oral History, Staffer for Edward Kennedy (extensive on health care reform, Clinton, Massachusetts reforms, long-term care, Medicare catastrophic coverage, cost, Kennedy-Kassebaum, SCHIP)
• Rashi Fein Oral History, Staffer for Edward Kennedy (extensive on health care reform, Medicare, Medicare Part D)
• Max Fine Oral History, Executive Director, Committee for national health insurance (extensive on health care reform, Public Health Service, Walter Reuther)
• Leroy Goldman Oral History, Staff Director, Senate Subcommittee on Health (extensive on 1970s health care reform, health manpower legislation, NIH, National Cancer Institute, War on Cancer)
• Willis D. Gradison, Jr. Oral History, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives, R-Ohio; President, Health Insurance Association of America (health care reform, Pepper Commission on Comprehensive Health Care, managed care, Kaiser, HMOs, Clinton plan, Health Insurance Association of America, “Harry and Louise” ads, Democratic National Committee, Richard Celeste)
• John Hilley Oral History, Chief of Staff to Senator George Mitchell; Director of Legislative Affairs under Bill Clinton (health care reform, Clinton, Kennedy-Kassebaum, SCHIP)
• Christopher Jennings, Senior healthcare advisor under Bill Clinton, Senior healthcare advisor under Bill Clinton (extensive on health care reform, Clinton, Kennedy-Kassebaum, SCHIP, Medicare Part D)
• Stanley Jones Oral History (03/2007), EMK staffer; healthcare specialist (Committee for National Health Insurance, health care reform, Health Security, Medicare, cost, Nixon, Wilbur Mills, Russell Long, unions, HMOs)
• Stanley Jones Oral History (09/2007), EMK staffer; healthcare specialist (Public Health Service Act, Community Health Centers, Migrant Health Centers, extensive on Community Mental Health Centers, National Health Service Corps, coverage for unemployed, health manpower, HMOs, NIH, FDA)
• Nancy Kassebaum Oral History, Senator, Kansas (extensive on health care reform, FDA, Orphan Drug bill, Medicare Catastrophic Coverage, Clinton bill, “Harry and Louise” ads, Kennedy-Kassebaum/HIPAA, SCHIP, limited on AIDS)
• Edward M. Kennedy Oral History (3/28/2008), Senator, Massachusetts (extensive on Health Care Reform, Nixon, Carter, Clinton, Neighborhood Health Centers, War on Cancer, SCHIP, Kennedy-Kassebaum, Family Opportunity Act, Health Savings Accounts, cost, Kennedy family health issues)
• Nick Littlefield Oral History (5/3/2008), Staff Director and Chief Counsel for Senator Kennedy on the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee (health care reform, George H.W. Bush, extensive on Clinton plan, committee operations, Ryan White Aids Care Bill, extensive on AIDS, NIH, 1994 Republican sweep, Kennedy-Kassebaum, SCHIP, Medicare Part D, George W. Bush, fetal tissue research, women’s health)
• Chester Trent Lott Oral History, Senator, Mississippi (countering Kennedy on health care, tobacco legislation)
• John McCain Oral History, Senator, Arizona (Patient’s Bill of Rights, HMOs, Kennedy absence from Obamacare process)
• George Mitchell Oral History, Senate Majority Leader; Senator, Maine (health care reform, extensive on Clinton plan, interest groups, Obama)
• Walter Mondale Oral History, Vice President of the United States (health care reform, extensive on Carter)
• James Mongan Oral History, Staffer for Russell Long (extensive on health care reform, Nixon, Carter, Clinton, Health Security bill, Wilbur Mills, Joseph Califano, committee jurisdiction, cost containment, hospitals, HMOs, interest groups, Massachusetts reform, PSROs, kidney dialysis coverage, drug coverage)
• Michael Myers Oral History (10/16/2009); Myers Oral History (2006), Staffer for Edward Kennedy (health care reform, Obama, Massachusetts reform, CHIP, public health, tobacco legislation)
• Thomas Oliphant Oral History (11/15/2006), Washington correspondent and a columnist for the Boston Globe (health care reform, Carter)
• Thomas Oliphant Oral History (3/14/2007), Washington correspondent and a columnist for the Boston Globe (limited on health care reform—basic principles)
• Carey Parker Oral History (09/2008), Chief Legislative Assistant for Edward Kennedy (health care reform, Nixon, Walter Reuther, Health Security)
• Carey Parker Oral History (10/06/2008) (health care reform, Nixon, Kennedy-Kassebaum, CHIP)
• Carey Parker Oral History (10/13/2008) (health care reform, Carter, 1980 campaign)
• Carey Parker Oral History (10/20/2008) (health care reform, Ford, Reagan)
• Carey Parker Oral History (10/27/2008) (health care reform, Family Practice of Medicine Act, Nixon, Mental Health Parity Act, limited on War on Cancer)
• Carey Parker Oral History (11/10/2008) (health care reform philosophy, Clinton plan, Harry and Louise ads, FDA, New Deal, LBJ, American Medical Association, family practice, medical research, CHIP, Nixon, War on Cancer)
• Carey Parker Oral History (11/17/2008) (health care reform, Clinton post-1994, Kennedy-Kassebaum, CHIP, labor, philosophy)
• Carey Parker Oral History (12/2008) (overview, post-1994, Mental Health Parity Bill)
• Nancy Pelosi Oral History, Speaker of the House (Affordable Care Act, public option, Carter, Memphis mid-term convention)
• Thomas M. Rollins Oral History (03/2009), Chief Counsel, Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources (health care reform, CHIP, 1980s, Clinton plan)
• Thomas M. Rollins Oral History (04/2009) (AIDS crisis and legislation, CDC, public health, Orrin Hatch, Clinton Bill)
• Thomas M. Rollins Oral History (05/12/2009) (health care reform, cost control, public opinion, interest groups, NIH, human genome)
• Thomas M. Rollins Oral History (05/14/2009) (mine safety, abortion, health and minimum wage, Clinton plan, AIDS, NIH)
• Mona Sarfaty, Health-care staffer (AIDS/HIV, Ryan White Care Act, FDA, pharmaceutical regulation, tobacco legislation, African American staff, COBRA, health care reform, biomedical research, Medicaid expansion, CHIP, SCHIP)
• Stuart Shapiro Oral History (04/2009), Senior Staff Member of the U.S. Senate Sub-Committee on Health and Scientific Research; Massachusetts Deputy Health Commissioner; President, Pennsylvania Health Care Association (health care reform, Nixon, Mills, mental health, health planning, community mental health centers, neighborhood health centers, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter, hospital cost containment, NIH, FDA, pharmaceuticals)
• Robert Shrum Oral History (7/7/2009), Speechwriter/press secretary (campaign strategy, AIDS and gay rights in Democratic platform)
• Anne Strauss Oral History, Staff Director, Senate National Science Foundation Subcommittee; Legislative Correspondent to Senator Kennedy (Indian health centers, NSF subcommittee, Women in Science Equal Opportunity Act)
• Ronald Weich Oral History, Staffer for Edward Kennedy (National Institute on Drug Abuse, anti-drug policy, mental health, tobacco, health care reform, Clinton)
• Lowell P. Weicker, Jr. Oral History, Senator, Connecticut; Governor, Connecticut (Americans with Disabilities Act, NIH, AIDS, health care reform, Clinton)

Compiled by Guian A. McKee, Associate Professor of Presidential Studies, Miller Center of Public Affairs, University of Virginia