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.

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 Kaiser Incremental Health Reform Project.

Many proposals for incremental expansion of health insurance coverage would provide subsidies for the purchase of nongroup policies.

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.

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.

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Under the proposed tax reform, the employer tax exclusion and all other deductions for health-related expenses would be repealed.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 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 integration with existing insurance systems.

This paper examines a method for making health insurance more affordable to people who may lose health insurance when they lose or change jobs.