Contributor
Jonathan Gruber, Professor of Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Related Link:
http://econ-www.mit.edu/faculty/gruberj/
Biography provided by participant
Jonathan Gruber is a Professor of Economics at MIT, where he has taught since 1992. He is a widely renowned health economist who is well known for his work on the effects of health insurance on wages and job mobility; the impacts of public insurance on insurance coverage and health; and the effects of tax policy on insurance coverage. He is also a policy expert who has worked with a number of states and the federal government to advise on and model the impacts of health reform; most notable was his work as an early architect of the Massachusetts health reform of 2006, and his continued rule as a member of the Connector Board implementing that reform.
November 17, 2008 08:22 AM
Insurance market reform is one of the key pieces to any successful health reform in the U.S. Right now, health insurance markets function well for those who work for large firms: insurers can fairly price insurance to reflect the underlying mix of health in the firm. But for smaller firms and particularly for individuals in the non-group market, insurance markets are dysfunctional. Young and healthy individuals are often able to get insurance at very low rates, while sicker and older individuals find themselves facing very high rates or no access at all. States which have tried to resolve this problem…
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