Private Purchasing Pools to Harness Individual Tax Credits for Consumers

Health Insurance for Americans Approaching Age Sixty-five: An Analysis of Options for Incremental Reform

“…In the state of Washington, the Washington State Health Care Authority contracts with health plans to cover not only state employees and retirees, but also low-income families who are eligible for insurance through the Washington Basic Health Plan (Washington State Health Care Authority 2000). Finally, private purchasing pools could also be developed as an alternative to individually purchased insurance (Curtis, Neuschler, and Forland 2001).…”

Health Insurance Exchanges in Health Care Reform Legal and Policy Issues

“…With rare exceptions, the cost reductions promised by risk pooling have not yet been borne out in the experience of exchanges. 13 Most exchanges have covered only a small share of the potential market and have themselves become victims of risk selection. Insurers that have the option of selling outside the exchange have found exchanges unattractive because they tend to include higher-risk individuals and groups and because insurers prefer to control their own relationships with employers.…”

Expanding Access through Public Coverage: Permitting Families to Use Tax Credits to Buy into Medicaid or SCHIP

“…States also might select plans with different premiums, and pass on the differential to the buy-in participants. Since this model functions like a purchasing cooperative-except that in this case the cooperative is publicly administered-I leave discussion of the merits of this option to Curtis, Neuschler, and Forland (2001).…”