Document Type

Article

Publication Date

4-2004

Publication Title

Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law

Publisher

Duke University Press

Volume

29

Issue

2

Abstract

For more than twenty years, health scholars and advocates have warned us about the lack of adequate health coverage among a growing number of Americans. Health insurance premiums are rising. Many employers, especially small employers who employ over half of the country’s workforce, and individuals are seeing premium increases of 30, 40, and even 50 percent. Not surprisingly, America’s uninsured population is rising— to more than 41 million people. States are feeling the budget crunch as the economy sags and more and more people turn to state Medicaid and other public health care systems. This all means that state policy makers are looking for solutions. Yet no consensus has emerged on what to do about the uninsurance problem. Conservatives propose encouraging individuals to buy private health insurance and place more reliance on market forces. Liberals continue a struggle initiated during the New Deal to provide publicly financed health coverage.

Keywords

Child health insurance; Health care reform; Health insurance – Economic aspects; Health insurance – Rates; Medically uninsured persons; United States

Disciplines

American Politics | Health Policy | Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration | Public Health

Language

English

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