Individuals, Children, Aged 55+, Risk-Equalization, and Equity (ICARE): A Feasible Transition to a Better U.S. Health Insurance System
(joint with Randall Ellis). We propose and evaluate a politically feasible transition from the current patchwork U.S. health insurance system to one with publicly-subsidized, privately-insured coverage. Our proposal, ICARE, emphasizes individual contracts, uniform coverage for children, using managed competition to promote efficiency, and standardized coverage. Dynamic simulations incorporating behavioral responses predict incremental public spending to be $513 billion annually, roughly 1/6 of the spending increase necessary to fund more ambitious proposals such as Medicare For All.