The incompleteness of long-term care insurance

Joan Costa-i-Font, Alistair McGuire, Victoria Serra-Sastre, 19 January 2013Although healthcare innovation can make treatment cheaper, it can also make policy decisions more difficult by introducing new, better but more expensive technologies. This column argues that, unlike other technologies, healthcare technology is intermediated by insurance mechanisms, both private and public.

Jan van Ours, 5 March 2010Ageing populations are a concern for many developed countries, with increasing dependence on the working population expected. Despite this, there is relatively little research on how productivity changes with age. This column argues that while older people do not run as fast, there is no evidence of a mental productivity decline and little evidence of an increasing pay-productivity gap. The negative effects of ageing on productivity should not be exaggerated.

Martín Gonzalez-Eiras, Dirk Niepelt, 24 June 2011Should developed countries raise their retirement ages to combat the economic effects of their ageing populations? This column presents a model suggesting that, viewed in isolation, putting off retirement will actually reduce growth. It is only when viewed along with other policies that the benefits for growth arise.Full Article: Does population ageing reduce productivity growth?

By James Kwak

Former GOP VP nominee and budget superstar Paul Ryan will unveil a plan tomorrow morning that will, according to him, balance the budget within 10 years. He has a new op-ed in the WSJ this evening laying out his vision in broad swaths, but we must warn you, it's very broad. There are no real details in the op-ed.

I'm a bit more sold on taxing employer health benefits than some of the folks Alec McGillis quotes in this article. That said, this is a useful reality check:

By James Kwak I’m currently in the process of buying long-term care insurance—you know, so my daughter won’t have to take care of me when I’m old. I have a good agent who knows all about the market and has answered every question I’ve had. I understand personal finance, opportunity costs, discount rates, and inflation. I know my way around a spreadsheet (one benefit of my years at McKinsey). But I find it’s still hard to figure out what to do.