The Clintons' healthcare initiative would have guaranteed every American access to medical insurance. The plan would have relied on regulated private insurance markets, where insurers would compete among each other to drive down costs. The government would offer Americans an array of private plans, of varying costs, once a year. The government would cover the entire costs of cheap plans, with people paying more out-of-pocket for more expensive options.    Businesses would have been required to contribute to employee insurance plans, although small businesses would have received generous subsidies.  The plan included regulations insuring that insurance companies could not discriminate against those with pre-existing conditions. A patient’s bill of rights and an expansion of Medicare to include prescription drug benefits (administered by the government in contrast to the far pricier Bush plan that was actually enacted).