Covering the Uninsured in the United States
Journal of Economic Literature
vol. 46,
no. 3, September 2008
(pp. 571-606)
Abstract
One of the major social policy issues facing the United States in the first decade of the twenty-first century is the large number of Americans lacking health insurance. This article surveys the major economic issues around covering the uninsured. I review the facts on insurance coverage and the nature of the uninsured; explore explanations for why the United States has such a large, and growing, uninsured population; and discuss why we should care if individuals are uninsured. I then examine policy options to address the problem of the uninsured, beginning with a discussion of the key issues and available evidence and then turning to estimates from a micro-simulation model of the impact of alternative interventions to increase insurance coverage.Citation
Gruber, Jonathan. 2008. "Covering the Uninsured in the United States." Journal of Economic Literature, 46 (3): 571-606. DOI: 10.1257/jel.46.3.571JEL Classification
- G22 Insurance; Insurance Companies
- I18 Health: Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health