Clinton’s exit deals setback to the push for healthcare mandates

Sen. Hillary Clinton's exit from the presidential race will deal a blow to supporters of the idea that all Americans be required to buy or have health insurance. That mandate has been an important tenet of Sen. Clinton's healthcare plan and the only substantive difference from Sen. Barack Obama's health policy. The issue had become a dominant issue in the national discussion over how to expand coverage to the country's nearly 50 million uninsured, but with Clinton out of the race the concept has lost its most prominent platform.