Short Takes


For the Media Home

Interviews

Short Takes

Biosketches

ERIU Funded Projects

Find a Document
Research Highlights Research Findings Working Papers Q & A with the Author Conversations with Economists

Home > For the Media Home > Short Takes
Short Takes
Most questions relating to health insurance have an economic angle. Here we provide a short economic take on current and topical issues that relate to health insurance and the uninsured, highlighting factors underlying such questions as:
How would a minimum wage increase affect health insurance coverage? Costco gives its workers more generous health insurance coverage than Wal-Mart. How can Costco do this when its competitors do not? Is this a problem? Fewer than half of Wal-Mart's employees take up their offer of health insurance. Is this a problem? Who pays for employment-based health insurance? If U.S. automakers didn't have to pay for health insurance, would that lower the sticker price of a new car? If everyone could get a tax break on health insurance payments, would that reduce the number of uninsured? If electronic health records could save billions of dollars, would those savings be used to help the uninsured? Since employers who offer health insurance tend to have lower worker turnover rates, why don't more employers offer health insurace? Have a question you'd like to see answered here? Send us an email at: eriu@umich.edu