This paper presents a framework for universal health insurance that builds on the current U.S. mixed private-public system by expanding group coverage through private markets and publicly sponsored insurance. This Building Blocks approach includes a new national insurance "connector" that offers small businesses and individuals a structured choice of a Medicare-like public option and private pl...

Low-income workers face the highest gap in health coverage; 37.3 percent were uninsured in 1999. Although employer-sponsored insurance covered many more low-income workers, state programs are very important to those without private insurance. We examined the wide variations across thirteen representative states in public insurance coverage of low-income workers to develop insights into the reas...

This paper considers the effect of retiree health insurance coverage on retirement decisions of academics, and attempts to answer two key questions of interest in this conference volume: 1) how do retiree health insurance plans affect retirement decisions? and 2) if retiree health plans are cut back or eliminated, by how much will faculty delay their retirements? I argue that the risk of uninsu...

THE PRIVATE HEALTH insurance industry in the United States is made up of three broad categories: Blue Cross and Blue Shield associations, commercial insurance companies, and independent plans. In 1970 these private health insurance organizations provided some protection to approximately four-fifths of the civilian population-against the costs of hospital care and surgical care. For 72 percent o...

A model was developed to assess the impact of possible moves towards universal coverage in Tanzania over a 15-year time frame. Three scenarios were considered: maintaining the current situation ('the status quo'); expanded health insurance coverage (the estimated maximum achievable coverage in the absence of premium subsidies, coverage restricted to those who can pay); universal coverage to all...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the association between health insurance coverage and disease-modifying therapy (DMT) use for multiple sclerosis (MS). METHODS In 2014, we surveyed participants in the North American Research Committee on MS registry regarding health insurance coverage. We investigated associations between negative insurance change and (1) the type of insurance, (2) DMT use, (3) use of f...

ISSUE: The Affordable Care Act's (ACA) coverage provisions have extended health insurance coverage to millions of Americans. While the effects of the Medicaid expansion and marketplace establishments on coverage have been well studied, the resulting effects of coverage on access to health care remain unclear. GOAL: To examine how the 2014 coverage expansions affected health care access followin...

Vietnam has pursued universal health insurance coverage for two decades but has yet to fully achieve this goal. This paper investigates the barriers to achieve universal coverage and examines the validity of facilitating factors to shorten the transitional period in Vietnam. A comparative study of facilitating factors toward universal coverage of Vietnam and Korea reveals significant internal f...

Thank you for the opportunity to address the committee about health insurance coverage among the near elderly, those between the ages of 55 and 641. This issue is becoming increasingly important as the first Americans born during the Baby Boom years begin to reach age 55. What distinguishes the near elderly from other groups is that they are not old enough to qualify for Medicare coverage (unle...