The Urban Institute’s Health Policy Center analyzes trends and underlying causes of changes in health insurance coverage, access to care, and use of health care services by the entire US population. Researchers address issues that arise from the inevitable trade-offs among health care costs, access, and quality.

The center's research has focused on Medicare, Medicaid, the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), private insurance markets, mechanisms for expanding coverage to the currently uninsured, and state and federal health care reform.

In addition, center researchers have developed a microsimulation model to examine the impact of coverage expansion proposals on private markets as well as on public programs.

The Institute has studied proposals to control costs, incentives built into public and private provider reimbursement mechanisms, reform alternatives for the long-term care system, and malpractice tort law and insurance.