Publications
Premium assistance programs offer states the potential to cut the number of uninsured, to strengthen the system of employer-sponsored insurance, and to reduce federal and state expenditures for public insurance. This fact sheet examines the advantages and disadvantages associated with designing and implementing various types of premium assistance programs.
This study compares the benefits of subsidizing employers vs. subsidizing individuals to increase health care coverage for the state.
This paper analyzes state government policy options designed to increase health insurance coverage for small business employees. Based on a review of the recent reform efforts in California and Massachusetts, the study evaluates the effectiveness of such policies with particular attention to their applicability to Missouri.
This piece provides background and specifically examines Missouri's high-risk pool, comparing it to those in other states. It offers specific recommendations for consideration regarding enrollment, benefits, costs, and funding issues.
This report examines ways that Missouri could use its state employees' health plan to expand insurance coverage to small businesses. The purpose of this study is to discuss key design decisions and explore the advantages/disadvantages of allowing small employers to buy coverage through MCHCP.
This study lays out both advantages and disadvantages of the use of high deductible plans. It touches on why this solution may exacerbate risk selection issues that already seem to be present in Missouri. It discusses how these plans can be a somewhat better deal for a large swath of the population that is younger and healthier but only at some cost.
This piece describes how public reinsurance could be structured in the state to spread risk and lower premiums. It provides the evidence on how such an approach could reduce costs of private insurance plans.
This paper explores the programs and policies that other states have adopted inorder to reduce the number of uninsured individuals. The discussion includes common elements that contribute to successful coverage expansions in a given state. The study also looks at Missouri's own experience in addressing the issue of the insured.
This paper determines the cost of a universal insurance plan covering all Missouri residents under 65, and compares that cost to the current expenditure.The model used is a single payer plan financed through a payroll tax - similar to the financing of the Federal Medicare program.