Issue 5: June 2004
Public Program Crowd-Out of Private Coverage: What Are the Issues?
Policy-makers are concerned about crowd-out because it limits the impact of public coverage expansions. When crowd-out occurs, scarce resources are used to cover people who would have insurance anyway. Much has been written about this topic, but studies present confusing and conflicting conclusions. This synthesis addresses these issues by presenting what we know about the extent and dynamics of crowd-out, discussing the effectiveness of policies to limit crowd-out and outlining the policy trade-offs between reducing crowd-out and expanding coverage.
Some Key Questions Addressed in This Issue:
