The 2006 Census Bureau estimate of 47 million uninsured Americans is often cited as a reason that healthcare reform is necessary. But who makes up this 47 million? Is it fair to lump all uninsured individuals into one statistic?
Building on her recent Employment Policies Institute paper, "Who are the Uninsured?," former CBO director June O'Neill discusses the characteristics of the uninsured population and what being uninsured means for individuals' health status. Cato scholar Michael Tanner comments on O'Neill's findings.
Featuring June E. O'Neill, Former CBO Director and Wollman Distinguished Professor of Economics and Director of the Center for the Study of Business and Government, Baruch College, City University of New York; and Michael Tanner, Senior Fellow, Cato Institute.
Bio
June E. O'Neill
June E. O'Neill is the former CBO Director and Wollman Distinguished Professor of Economics and Director of the Center for the Study of Business and Government, Baruch College, City University of New York.
Michael Tanner
As director of Cato's health and welfare studies, Michael Tanner heads research on new, market-based approaches to health, welfare and Social Security. His approach is based on individual responsibility rather than government control.
His most recent book, Leviathan on the Right: How Big-Government Conservatism Brought Down the Republican Revolution (2007), chronicles the demise of the Republican party as it has shifted away from its limited government roots and warns that reform is necessary to avoid electoral defeat in 2008.
Under Tanner's direction, Cato launched the Project on Social Security Choice, which is widely considered the leading impetus for transforming the soon-to-be-bankrupt system into a private savings program. Time Magazine calls Tanner, "one of the architects of the private accounts movement," and Congressional Quarterly named him one of the nation's five most influential experts on Social Security.
In addition to his work on Social Security, Tanner oversees Cato's research on new, market-based approaches to health care reform and social welfare programs.
June O'Neill's comments on access to health care in Canada couldn't get more biased . This is not really surprising considering this is coming from the Cato Institute.