Private and Public Insurance

Getting the Same Security for Less

Friday, June 23, 2000 | 9:15 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.

Wohlstetter Conference Center, Twelfth Floor, AEI 1150 Seventeenth Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036

About This Event

Few areas of public policy are more misunderstood than that of insurance. Why do consumers want to buy insurance in the first place? Why have politicians from Bismarck to the Clintons wished to provide more insurance through the public sector? And, can economists provide any rational criteria to judge the relative efficiency of private and public insurance?

Peter Zweifel will address these questions and more in this health policy discussion. Mr. Zweifel, an economist with the Socioeconomic Institute at the University of Zurich, will discuss his recent study of the ability of public and private insurance to protect individuals from unexpected events. His study develops criteria for evaluating several types of insurance, with special emphasis on health insurance. He uses empirical evidence from Germany, Japan, and the United States to evaluate the ability of public and private insurance to provide security for individuals. His surprising conclusions lead him to suggest ways to improve the division of labor between public and private insurance.

Agenda

8:45 a.m.	Registration
9:15	Opening Remarks:	Robert B. Helms, AEI
	Speaker:	Peter Zweifel, University of Zurich
	Discussants:	Matthew Eichner, Department of the Treasury
		Kevin A. Hassett, AEI
	Moderator:	Robert B. Helms, AEI
11:00	Adjournment

Speaker Biographies

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AEI Participants

Kevin A.
Hassett

Before joining AEI, Mr. Hassett was a senior economist at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and an associate professor of economics and finance at the Graduate School of Business of Columbia University, as well as a policy consultant to the Treasury Department during the George H. W. Bush and Clinton administrations. He served as an economic adviser to the George W. Bush 2004 presidential campaign, chief economic adviser to Senator John McCain during the 2000 presidential primaries, senior economic adviser to the McCain 2008 presidential campaign, and economic adviser to the Mitt Romney 2012 presidential campaign. Mr. Hassett is a columnist for National Review.
Phone: 202-862-7157
Email: khassett@aei.org
Assistant Info
Name: Emma Bennett
Phone: 202-862-5862
Email: emma.bennett@aei.org

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Robert B.
Helms

Robert B. Helms has served as a member of the Medicaid Commission as well as assistant secretary for planning and evaluation and deputy assistant secretary for health policy at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). An economist by training, he has written and lectured extensively on health policy and health economics, including the history of Medicare, the tax treatment of health insurance, and compared international health systems. He currently participates in the Health Policy Consensus Group, an informal task force that is developing consumer-driven health reforms. He is the author or editor of several AEI books on health policy, including Medicare in the Twenty-First Century: Seeking Fair and Efficient Reform and Competitive Strategies in the Pharmaceutical Industry.
Phone: 2028625877
Email: rhelms@aei.org
Assistant Info
Name: Catherine Griffin
Phone: 2028625920
Email: catherine.griffin@aei.org