Journal of Economic Literature
ISSN 0022-0515 (Print) | ISSN 2328-8175 (Online)
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