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CBO's Health Insurance Simulation Model: A Technical Description | Over the past several years, Federal and State policy makers have considered a variety of proposals to increase [private] Health Insurance Coverage among the nation's residences.
Estimating the effects of those proposals on the Size of the uninsured population, the Cost of [private] Health Insurance Premiums, and the Federal Budget is a significant challenge.
This background paper describes a model the Congressional Budget Office, CBO, developed to simulate and analyze an array of Policy Options involving [private] Health Insurance Coverage.
It describes the model's design, basic methodology, and fundamental assumptions.
To illustrate the model's use, the paper reports estimates for two scenarios in which policy regarding Health Insurance Policy would differ from current law.
Introduction and Summary
The Federal Government has devoted considerable effort, encompassing Public Health Programs and Tax Incentives, to encourage U.S. residents to obtain [private] Health Insurance.
In 2007, the Federal Government will spend roughly $130 Billion on subsidized Health Insurance provided to non-elderly low-income people through the Federal-State Medicaid program and the State Children's Insurance Program (SCHIP).
Federal tax preferences for some types of [private] Health Insurance, especially Employer-Sponsored Insurance, ESI, will total well over $200 Billion.
Despite the substantial efforts to promote [private] Health Insurance Coverage, about 55 million people under the age of 65 - or just under 17 percent of the non-elderly population - will be uninsured at any given point in time in 2008.
By 2017, that number is projected to be under 50 million (absent any changes in policy), or more than 18 percent of the non-elderly population, driven in part by shifts in the Nation's democraphics and in part by increases in average [private] Insurance Premiums.
Today, about 39 percent of the nation's uninsured people are in Working Families whose income is between 100 percent and 250 percent of the Federal Poverty Line.
Most are not eligible for Public Health Insurance Programs, and they are not offered, or decline to accept, [private] insurance through their employer.
The low participation among those workers is attributed partly to their relatively low income and partly to the relatively small tax preference they receive for purchasing [private] insurance.
Because their tax rates are relatively low, the benefit of taking some compensation in nontaxable form, like [private] Health Insurance, is not as large as it is for higher-income workers.
Federal and State policy makers have considered a variety of proposals to encourage U.S. residents to obtain [private] Health Insurance.
Some initiatives would offer Subsidies or expand Tax Incentives for those who purchase Private Insurance, some would require Employers to offer coverage to their Employees, some would modify existing regulations to reduce the cost of coverage for workers in small firms, and some would expand Public Insurance Programs.
It is a significant challenge to predict how various proposals would change the Size of the uninsured population, influence the Cost of nonpublic, [private], Health Insurance, or affect the Federal Budget.
(Note: to read the rest of this report, go to
http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/87xx/doc8712/10-31-HealthInsurModel.pdf
This CBO report provides detailed and extensive information on the many factors that impact both Public and Private Health Insurance costs -- and thus gave me, your average uninformed user of Health Insuance, a tutorial on what I might want to consider in supporting Public and/or Private Insurance Plans.
Issues include the Cost of delivery of Health Services using Public vs. Private Insurance.
Issues include the Level of Medical Services and the Quality of Medical Services of Public vs. Private Insurance Plans.
Because of its complexity, most people will shy away from immersing |  | asked by grandpa24551, 11/2/2007 |
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