Friday, December 19, 2008
Tweet[IWS] CBO: KEY ISSUES in ANALYZING MAJOR HEALTH INSURANCE PROPOSALS [18 December 2008]
IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016 -------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________
Congressional Budget Office (CBO)
Key Issues in Analyzing Major Health Insurance Proposals [18 December 2008]
http://www.cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=9924
or
http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/99xx/doc9924/12-18-KeyIssues.pdf
[full-text, 196 pages]
See also CHARTS - http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/99xx/doc9924/SlidesHealthBriefing.pdf
and BLOG - http://cboblog.cbo.gov/?p=193
[excerpt]
Concerns about the number of people who lack health insurance and about the high
and rising costs of health insurance and health care have led to proposals that would substantially
modify the health insurance system in this country. Because the Medicare program
already provides nearly universal coverage to the elderly, those proposals generally focus on
options for providing coverage to and reducing costs for the nonelderly population. Because
most nonelderly people obtain their insurance coverage through an employer, proposals could
affect that coverage in some way. They could, for example, provide new federal subsidies to
pay some portion of health insurance premiums; impose mandates for individuals to purchase
coverage or for employers to offer it; encourage alternatives to employment-based insurance or
provide strong incentives to purchase coverage individually; or create new federally administered
options for obtaining health insurance (including a single-payer system in which all citizens
or residents would be offered coverage under Medicare).
This report describes some of the key assumptions that the Congressional Budget Office
(CBO) would use in estimating the effects of key elements of such proposals on federal costs,
insurance coverage, and other outcomes; the evidence on which those assumptions are based;
and—if the evidence points to a range of possible effects rather than a precise prediction—
the factors that would influence where a proposal falls within those ranges. In doing so, it also
reviews many of the major issues that arise in designing such proposals. This document does
not provide a comprehensive analysis of any specific proposal; rather, it identifies and discusses
many of the critical factors that would affect estimates of various proposals. In accordance
with CBO's mandate to provide objective and impartial analysis, the report makes no
recommendations.
______________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.
Stuart Basefsky
Director, IWS News Bureau
Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell/ILR School
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Telephone: (607) 255-2703
Fax: (607) 255-9641
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu
****************************************
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016 -------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________
Congressional Budget Office (CBO)
Key Issues in Analyzing Major Health Insurance Proposals [18 December 2008]
http://www.cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=9924
or
http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/99xx/doc9924/12-18-KeyIssues.pdf
[full-text, 196 pages]
See also CHARTS - http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/99xx/doc9924/SlidesHealthBriefing.pdf
and BLOG - http://cboblog.cbo.gov/?p=193
[excerpt]
Concerns about the number of people who lack health insurance and about the high
and rising costs of health insurance and health care have led to proposals that would substantially
modify the health insurance system in this country. Because the Medicare program
already provides nearly universal coverage to the elderly, those proposals generally focus on
options for providing coverage to and reducing costs for the nonelderly population. Because
most nonelderly people obtain their insurance coverage through an employer, proposals could
affect that coverage in some way. They could, for example, provide new federal subsidies to
pay some portion of health insurance premiums; impose mandates for individuals to purchase
coverage or for employers to offer it; encourage alternatives to employment-based insurance or
provide strong incentives to purchase coverage individually; or create new federally administered
options for obtaining health insurance (including a single-payer system in which all citizens
or residents would be offered coverage under Medicare).
This report describes some of the key assumptions that the Congressional Budget Office
(CBO) would use in estimating the effects of key elements of such proposals on federal costs,
insurance coverage, and other outcomes; the evidence on which those assumptions are based;
and—if the evidence points to a range of possible effects rather than a precise prediction—
the factors that would influence where a proposal falls within those ranges. In doing so, it also
reviews many of the major issues that arise in designing such proposals. This document does
not provide a comprehensive analysis of any specific proposal; rather, it identifies and discusses
many of the critical factors that would affect estimates of various proposals. In accordance
with CBO's mandate to provide objective and impartial analysis, the report makes no
recommendations.
______________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.
Stuart Basefsky
Director, IWS News Bureau
Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell/ILR School
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Telephone: (607) 255-2703
Fax: (607) 255-9641
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu
****************************************
# posted by SBasefsky : 8:50 AM
