MIT Economist: Senate Health Care Reform Bill Lowers Costs While Improving Coverage

MIT Economist Gruber: Senate Health Care Bill Will Benefit Americans

Gruber: Senate Bill Lowers Premiums And Improves Coverage.  In his analysis of the Senate health care bill, MIT economist Jonathan Gruber wrote: "It is worth noting that these savings are all in addition to the more generous benefits that these groups will receive through the exchange compared to the non-group market...So not only does the Senate proposal lower premiums, it does so while also improving coverage."  [Gruber, "The Senate Bill Lowers Non-Group Premiums: Updated for New CBO Estimates," 11/27/09, via Politico; emphasis added]

Gruber: Senate Bill Will Cause Premiums For Low Income Americans To Drop Thousands Of Dollars.  Politico reported that MIT economist Jonathan Gruber found "that people purchasing individual insurance would save an annual $200 (singles) to $500 (families) in 2009 dollars. And people with low incomes would receive premium tax credits that would reduce the price that they pay for health insurance by as much as $2,500 to $7,500." [Politico, 11/28/09]

Gruber: "Reform Will Significantly Reduce, Not Increase, Non-Group Premiums."  In his analysis of the Senate health care bill, MIT economist Jonathan Gruber wrote: "the key point is that, as of now, the most authoritative objective voice in this debate suggests that reform will significantly reduce, not increase, non-group premiums."  [Gruber, "The Senate Bill Lowers Non-Group Premiums: Updated for New CBO Estimates," 11/27/09, via Politico]

Gruber: Similar Health Care Reform In Massachusetts Caused A 40% Reduction In Premiums.  Jonathan Gruber found that after Massachusetts enacted "a health care reform similar to the one contemplated at the federal level," the state saw "an enormous reduction in the cost of non-group insurance in the state: the average individual premium in the state fell from $8537 at the end of 2006 to $5143 in mid-2009, a 40% reduction while the rest of the nation was seeing a 14% increase."  [Gruber, "The Senate Bill Lowers Non-Group Premiums: Updated for New CBO Estimates," 11/27/09, via Politico; emphasis original]

Gruber: Senate Bill Creates Savings For Singles & Families.  MIT economist Jonathan Gruber found "that the [health care] savings are large for both singles and families, and that they are particularly large for the lowest income families that qualify for premium credits under the Senate Bill but would be left to face the full high non-group premium without legislation.  In particular, I [found] that the single individual would save over $2500 at low incomes (175% of poverty), and would save $200 even at higher incomes (425% of poverty or higher).  For families, the savings are much larger, ranging from nearly $7500 for low income families at (175% of poverty) to $500 for higher incomes (425% of poverty or higher)." [Gruber, "The Senate Bill Lowers Non-Group Premiums: Updated for New CBO Estimates," 11/27/09, via Politico; parentheses original]

Dr. Gruber is an MIT professor as well as the Director of the Health Care Program at the National Bureau of Economic Research. 

Gruber Has Experience In Both Economics And Health Care. According to his MIT biography, "Dr. Jonathan Gruber is a Professor of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he has taught since 1992.  He is also the Director of the Health Care Program at the National Bureau of Economic Research, where he is a Research Associate.  He is a co-editor of the Journal of Public Economics, and an Associate Editor of the Journal of Health Economics." [MIT.edu, accessed 11/30/09]