NEWS RELEASE

Committee on Energy and Commerce
Rep. John D. Dingell, Chairman

Dingell, MIT's Dr. Gruber Defend SCHIP

Washington, D.C. - Rep. John D. Dingell, (D-MI) Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, today released a letter from Jonathan Gruber, Professor of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The letter responds to the characterization of a report Gruber co-authored with Cornell University's Kosali Simon. During a February 14, 2007 Subcommittee on Health hearing on State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), a Heritage Foundation witness in referring to the report suggested that the number of privately insured would drop by about 60% with respect to the growth in public insurance. Gruber's response refutes this claim, stating that they found "that there is no statistically significant effect of SCHIP expansions per se on private insurance coverage."

"This is clear evidence that the SCHIP program is one of the best values we have in providing health care coverage to children and it does not erode employer-sponsored healthcare coverage," said Dingell.

Dr. Gruber's letter notes that public insurance expansions like SCHIP remain the most cost-effective manner of coverage.

See:
February 28, 2007, Dingell letter to Dr. Jonathan Gruber
February 28, 2007, Gruber response to Dingell with attachment

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