title: Universal coverage: building on Medicare and employer financing.
abstract: Universal coverage requires a strategy to sever the link between insurance coverage and employment in order to build a more stable insurance base. Universality also will require subsidies to make coverage affordable. Given these realities, the authors evaluate different financing proposals--employer and individual premium mandates and taxes--in terms of equity, affordability, and administrative and political criteria. An expansion of Medicare offers an insurance alternative that takes advantage of existing administrative structures of national scope.
authors.affiliation: Commonwealth Fund.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Davis
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Schoen
mesh_terms: D003256:Community Participation / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D006264:Health Benefit Plans, Employee / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D018166:Health Care Reform / Q000191:economics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000191:economics; D006801:Humans; D006278:Medicare / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D013660:Taxes / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D014481:United States