New England Public Policy Center Policy Brief No. 07-3
by Antoniya Owens

Full-text paper

In her book, Reinsuring Health: Why More Middle-Class People Are Uninsured and What Government Can Do, Katherine Swartz, Professor of Health Economics and Policy at the Harvard School of Public Health, finds that the lack of health insurance is a growing problem for young adults, moderate income households, and skilled workers. This brief draws on her research to provide an overview of the characteristics of the uninsured population and how they have changed over time. The brief also highlights factors that have contributed to the growing numbers of uninsured adults, such as the decline in employment-based health insurance, the high premiums charged by individual and small-group market insurers, and the often confusing or cumbersome application and enrollment procedures.