Health Policy

EPI analyzes the US health care system through the lens of low and moderate income families' living standards. From this perspective we propose and track progressive options for national health reform.

Newest Research and Commentary

The Erosion of Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance in 2008: Elise Gould tracks the erosion of employer-sponsored health insurance since 2000 for different population groups.

Senate tax proposal would affect one-third of insurance plans: Elise Gould uses new Joint Committee on Taxation data to show how the Senate proposal for taxing high cost insurance plans would negatively affect a large portion of insurance policies, many of which are high cost but certainly not overly generous.

Taking the Best of Health Reform Proposals: Elise Gould and Alexander Hertel-Fernandez highlight proposals from the Senate HELP and House Tri-Committee bills for reform that should be merged with the Senate Finance Committee legislation.

Rite of Passage? Why Young Adults Become Uninsured: Elise Gould and co-authors examine the sources of coverage for young adults, explain why this group has the highest rate of uninsurance of any other age cohort, and what policies can be implemented to help cover more young Americans.

Seniors Need Health (and Medicare) Reform, Too: The response to the recent Social Security "zero" cost-of-living adjustment shows just how much seniors are affected by rising health care costs even in the face of declining national prices for other goods and services. Seniors thus need health reform (and particularly Medicare reform) that will make their insurance and medical care more affordable and efficient. This analysis shows how seniors stand to gain from proposed national health reform.

Expanded Subsidies are Essential to Health Reform: An essential component of the health care reform debate is providing affordable coverage, or subsidies, to those who cannot currently afford health insurance. Legislation in Congress would limit the maximum amount families under 400% of the federal poverty line could pay on insurance premiums, but some policy makers would like to reduce that eligibility for subsidies.A new EPI Issue Brief shows how reducing these subsidies will affect families in each of the 50 states. Click here to read the issue brief, and click here to read one-page fact sheets for the 18 states most affected.

Seeing the Big Picture on Health Reform: Long-term cost control has become the watchword of health reform. Josh Bivens explains how legislators ought to see the "big picture" on cost containment, recognizing the role of the federal government in lowering health care cost growth.

Employers and Health Reform: Two new reports explore the effects of health reform on employer-sponsored health insurance and the firms that offer such plans. Read more about both briefs here.

Small Businesses and Health Reform: Two new reports explain how recently proposed health care reforms stand to benefit small businesses and their workers. This Issue Brief explains the challenges that small firms face and the many ways in which small business could benefit from comprehensive national reform. This Policy Memo looks specifically at the recently released House Health Reform Bill and estimates the impacts on small business based on EPI's own very similar proposal, Health Care for America. 

Employment Effects of a Pay-or Play Mandate: Phillip Cryan analyzes the employment effects of a "pay-or-play" mandate for employers to provide health insurance to their workers or pay a contribution to the insurance marketplace, finding that job losses are likely to be minimal or non-existent and greatly outweighed by job creation.  

Geographic Effects of Capping the Tax Exclusion: Elise Gould analyzes the geographic effects of capping the tax exclusion for employer-sponsored health insurance.

A Public Plan Option as Backup Insurance: Elise Gould and Alexander Hertel-Fernandez examine how a public plan option for health insurance could serve as backup insurance for millions of Americans.

Medicare Privatization: A Cautionary Tale: Monique Morrissey discusses the Medicare Advantage program and its implications for health reform.  

Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance in the 21st Century: Elise Gould delivered testimony before the Ways and Means Committee of the House of Representatives on April 29th, 2009 on the erosion of employer-sponsored health insurance and the need for comprehensive health reform that strengthens employer-provided insurance while providing a new public health insurance option.

A Public Insurance Option: Alexander Hertel-Fernandez outlines the case for why a public health insurance option is essential for effective health reform, even with a new regulated national insurance exchange. 

Taxing Health Benefits: Elise Gould examines who would stand stand to lose if employer-sponsored health insurance premiums become subject to taxation. Read the full article in the March 9th issue of Tax Notes here, and read a summary of the research here.

Other Featured Research and Commentary:

- The State of Working America 2008/2009 Health Chapter, by Elise Gould, outlines the failings of our present health care system, including trends in insurance coverage, access to care, and health oucomes.

- "No Time For Timidity" (USA Today Op-Ed), by Elise Gould, makes the case for bold, comprehensive action on health reform, now more than ever in the worsening recession.

- Working with Jacob Hacker, we have developed the Health Care for America plan that would extend health insurance coverage to all Americans while controlling costs and improving quality. Read more about the plan, including an analysis of estimated costs and savings, here. 

- Monique Morrissey makes the case for why our economy needs health reform, not entitlement or Social Security reform.

- EPI tracks the erosion of employer-sponsored for different demographic and socioeconomic groups. Read the current report here.