National Health Insurance Revisited

20 Pages Posted: 19 Jun 2004 Last revised: 14 Aug 2022

See all articles by Victor R. Fuchs

Victor R. Fuchs

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Date Written: October 1991

Abstract

This paper explains why one in seven Americans has no health insurance, and compares the casualty and the social insurance models of health insurance. The paper discusses the relationship among national health insurance (NHI) , the cost of care, and the health of the population, and it considers the prospects for NHI in the United States in the short and the long run. Four explanations for the absence of NHI in the United States distrust of government, heterogeneity of the population, a robust voluntary sector, and lack of noblesse oblige -- are evaluated in the light of recent political, social, and economic trends.

Suggested Citation

Fuchs, Victor R., National Health Insurance Revisited (October 1991). NBER Working Paper No. w3884, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=300161

Victor R. Fuchs (Contact Author)

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) ( email )

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

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