In this paper I ask whether a central bank policy of providing liquidity to banks during panics can prevent bank runs without causing moral hazard. This kind of policy has been widely advocated, most notably by Bagehot (1873). To analyze such a policy, I build a model with three key features: 1) bank panics can occur in equilibrium, 2) there can be moral hazard, 3) the central bank can create m...

Many states have worked tirelessly over the past two years to develop health insurance exchanges and prepare for the expansion of their Medicaid programs in order to meet the requirements of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Programs to expand coverage, however, do not necessarily ensure seamlessness for many individuals who are likely to experience shifts in program eligibility d...

A successful exchange model provides a simple and intuitive front-end shopping experience for eligible consumers, a support module to promote broker and navigator usage, and a robust back-end system to integrate with issuers, state and federal agency systems. States must examine the following four important criteria: • Implementation cost. • Solution flexibility and interoperability. • Speed to...

health insurance “across state lines” are often promoted to address the challenges of high health insurance costs and a lack of choice among insurers and have been a core component of alternative health reform proposals since the mid-2000s. Critics, however, argue that across state lines proposals would lead to deregulation and a “race to the bottom” where health insurers relocate to the states...

Later this year, new provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 will transform the health care industry. Consumers will be able to purchase insurance through health insurance marketplaces, but many people who already have insurance could see their premiums rise. Insurers will need to help consumers navigate the new system.

A successful exchange model provides a simple and intuitive front-end shopping experience for eligible consumers, a support module to promote broker and navigator usage, and a robust back-end system to integrate with issuers, state and federal agency systems. States must examine the following four important criteria: • Implementation cost. • Solution flexibility and interoperability. • Speed to...

Key findings. (1) Adjusted premiums in the individual market in states with prior approval authority combined with loss ratio requirements were lower in 2010-2013 than premiums in states with no rate review authority or file-and-use regulations only. (2) Adjusted premiums declined modestly in prior approval states while premiums increased in states with no rate review authority or with file-and...

We thank the ERIU for grant support. In addition, we thank participants at two ERIU conferences and at the November 2003 NBER health care program meeting for their comments. All errors remain the authors'.

Conducted October 9-27, 2013, the Commonwealth Fund Affordable Care Act Tracking Survey interviewed a nationally representative sample of adults who are potentially eligible for the health reform law's new insurance coverage options, whether private plans or expanded Medicaid. Among the survey's key findings: 60 percent of potentially eligible adults are aware of the new marketplaces as a place...

The scope of this paper is to analyse duration as a risk measure of life insurance liabilities from traditional life insurance products using a simple model to assess the problem. First, the liabilities are defined. Then the concept of Macauley duration as a measure for interest rate risk with respect to life insurance liabilities is derived. This concept is discussed with respect to its useful...