Insurance Market Reforms and the Individual Insurance Marketplace: Implications for Coverage Expansions October 2, 1999 Report Proposals that attempt to expand coverage in the private individual insurance market will only work if private insurance is available and affordable. This paper describes how the current individual marketplace will affect the ability of such proposals to assure equitable access to affordable coverage. This paper is part of the…
Options for Expanding Health Insurance Coverage: Report on a Policy Roundtable October 2, 1999 Report This paper is a summary of a 1999 policy conference, The Kaiser Incremental Health Reform Project, which highlighted both the policy and politics of incrementalism. This paper identifies issues and tradeoffs associated with alternative approaches to expanding health insurance coverage-including enactment and implementation of CHIP and further coverage expansions through…
The Kaiser/Harvard Health News Index September/October 1999 October 1, 1999 Poll Finding Health News Index September/October, 1999 The September/October 1999 edition of the Kaiser Family Foundation/Harvard Health News Index includes questions about major health stories covered in the news, including questions about the uninsured, Patients’ Rights and health care reform proposals by democratic presidential candidates. The survey is based on a national…
Extending Health Insurance Through Tax Credits October 1, 1999 Report Part of the Kaiser Incremental Health Reform Project, this paper describes a generous tax credit approach to the expansion of health insurance coverage. The design features of refundable, publicly-financed tax credits for the purchase of health insurance are described for a range of sample plans.Issue Paper
An Assessment of Strategies for Expanding Health Insurance Coverage October 1, 1999 Report This paper provides a conceptual analysis of alternative mechanisms (tax credits, public programs, and direct subsidies) for expanding health insurance coverage. The paper, which is part of the Kaiser Incremental Health Reform Project, discusses the likely impacts alternative approaches on a variety of outcomes including efficiency in increasing coverage and…
Expanding Health Insurance Through Tax Reform October 1, 1999 Report This paper discusses the impacts of the Heritage Foundation proposal for expanding health insurance coverage. Under the proposed tax reform, the employer tax exclusion and all other deductions for health-related expenses would be repealed. A new refundable tax credit would be created for unreimbursed medical expenses. This paper is part…
Subsidizing COBRA: An Option for Expanding Health Insurance Coverage October 1, 1999 Report This paper examines a method for making health insurance more affordable to people who may lose health insurance when they lose or change jobs. A proposal for subsidizing the purchase of group health insurance through COBRA for employees and their dependents who lose their health insurance coverage when the employee…
Expansions in Public Health Insurance and Crowd-Out: What the Evidence Says October 1, 1999 Report Enactment of the Children's Health Insurance Program has been accompanied by concerns that new coverage will “crowd out” private health insurance coverage. Part of the Kaiser Incremental Health Reform Project, this paper reviews existing empirical literature on the magnitude of crowd-out and discusses implications for CHIP. Issue Paper
Retiree Health Coverage: Recent Trends and Employer Perspectives on Future Benefits October 1, 1999 Report The report, based on an analysis of Hewitt Associates' client database, presents new trend data on the prevalence of retiree health coverage sponsored by large employers and finds a continued erosion of retiree health benefits. The report also includes findings from a new survey assessing how large employers might change…
Incrementalism: Ethical Implications of Policy Choices October 1, 1999 Report This paper discusses ethical issues in incremental approaches to expanding health insurance coverage. Although any reduction in the number of uninsured is morally desirable, there are real moral differences between different policy options. This paper, which is part of the Kaiser Incremental Health Reform Project, examines these moral differences by…
