Decades of trying, but health reform remains elusive in US

Washington

THE US has a long-standing reputation for world-class medicine, doctors and hospitals, but for decades it has also been riddled with gaping holes that have left millions without health insurance.

Every president in living memory - including Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary - has made some kind of effort to plug the gaps. But the problems persist to this day, only multiplied.

During the 1970s, healthcare …