HR3590 Health Care Bill & Government Health Insurance

Still confused about the new health care law? MIT economics professor Jonathan Gruber tries a different way to communicate major elements of the law; he’s doing it light and through a comic book.

In Health Care Reform: What It Is, Why It’s Necessary, How It Works, Gruber guides readers through complex policy details, including the individual mandate to buy insurance, the health insurance exchanges and controlling health care costs.

Gruber was involved in developing Governor Mitt Romney’s universal health care plan in Massachusetts as well as in President Obama’s Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

He believes that people don’t approve of the law because they don’t understand it, which is why he wanted to write a book about it. Coming up with the graphic novel that explains the health care overhaul in a light way was his publisher’s idea. While not totally enthusiastic of the idea at the start, Gruber was later convinced that a graphic novel will be best if they want to effectively communicate their point to a wider group.

While the book is generally positive about the law, Gruber, who is a supporter of the healthcare reform law, takes a more cautious tone when discussing cost control. He said: “I wanted to be intellectually honest. I believe that cost control is too hard for us to know what to do right now.” He added: “I want to explain to that set of voters and readers who are really critical of this bill because it doesn’t do enough on cost control that that is really an unfair criticism. We’re not really at a place where we could address that problem.”