Policy Writing

“The State of Health Insurance in America,” Econofact Memo, September 2024.
      Related Link: Podcast interview on this topic.

Summarizes the state of health insurance coverage in America, the effects of the ACA, and the evidence on the reasons for continuing uninsurance.

“How Large a Burden are Administrative Costs in Health Care” (with Joshua Gottlieb), Econofact Memo, September 2018.

Summarizes the evidence on the role of high administrative costs, which comprise 15-30% of U.S. health spending. While this is much larger than in other nations, the evidence is unclear on whether these costs are justified by offsetting savings in preventing unnecessary care utilization.

“Evidence on the Value of Medicaid” (with Joshua Gottlieb), Econofact Memo, July 2017. 

Summarizes evidence on the value and costs of Medicaid around the time of 2017 debates to "repeal and replace" the Affordable Care Act. It emphasizes the major benefits of Medicaid -- including financial risk protection and improved health -- but also that much of the incidence of financial benefits goes to hospitals and clinics that provide "uncompensated care" to the uninsured.