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Jaime S. King, Katherine L. Gudiksen, and Erin Fuse Brown

March 2, 2022

In a paper published in the Harvard Journal on Legislation Volume 59, Issue 1, The Source’s Jaime King and Katie Gudiksen, together with Erin Fuse Brown, discuss state public option proposals from 2010–2021, including from states like Nevada, Colorado, and Washington. In examining the three main models—(1) Medicaid Buy-In Public Options; (2) Marketplace-Based Public Options; and (3) Comprehensive Public Options—the paper considers potential challenges to these state public option plans and whether they are legally viable and “worth it” for states to pursue, given the goal of improving healthcare coverage and affordability. Read the paper here.

Also listen to a podcast for the New England Journal of Medicine in which co-author Erin Fuse Brown discusses lessons from the states public option plans explored in the paper.