Betsy McCaughey

Betsy McCaughey (/məˈkɔɪ/; born Elizabeth Helen Peterken, October 20, 1948), formerly known as Betsy McCaughey Ross, was the 72nd Lieutenant Governor of New York from 1995 to 1998, during the first term of Governor George Pataki. She unsuccessfully sought the Democratic Party nomination for Governor after Pataki dropped her from his 1998 ticket.

A historian by training, with a Ph.D. from Columbia University, she has, over the years, provided commentary on healthcare policy. Her 1993 attack on the Clinton healthcare plan was considered to be a major factor in the defeat of the bill, and brought her to the attention of Pataki, who then chose her as his Lieutenant Governor running mate. In 2009, her criticisms of the healthcare plan then being debated in the 111th Congress inspired the slogans "death panel" and "pulling the plug on Grandma", which nearly defeated the legislation.

She has been a fellow at the conservative Manhattan Institute and Hudson Institute think tanks, and has written numerous articles and op-eds. She was a member of the boards of directors of Genta, a medical supply corporation that focuses on products for cancer treatment from 2001 to 2007, and Cantel Medical Corporation, a company that produces and sells medical equipment—until she resigned in August 2009 to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest during the national debate over healthcare reform legislation.