Nonpartisan Report Offers Menu of Options to Policymakers for Strengthening Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Unemployment Insurance

WASHINGTON, DC--(Marketwired - January 27, 2017) - In an ambitious new report, the National Academy of Social Insurance provides detailed, evidence-based analyses on a range of policy options for modernizing the nation's social insurance system. The Report to the New Leadership and the American People on Social Insurance and Inequality takes stock of policy challenges facing the social insurance infrastructure, then discusses potential new directions that policymakers might take to strengthen the programs.

"On the occasion of a new President and the installation of a new leadership team to administer our nation's social insurance systems, the Academy engaged the expertise of over 80 of its Members and partners to develop informed analyses and offer a menu of solutions," said William Arnone, Chief Executive Officer of the Academy. "The Report reflects the contributions of these thought leaders with views across the policy spectrum."

The Report is organized into two main parts: The first part assesses policy challenges facing programs in the existing social insurance infrastructure, which protects against key risks facing American workers. These include: Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and Unemployment Insurance, which together provide protection against the risks of old age, disability, sickness, and involuntary unemployment. The second part of the Report discusses potential new frontiers for social insurance, taking into account changes in society in recent decades, such as longer life spans, increased demands on families and caregivers, and changes in the structure of work.

The Report was released at the Academy's annual policy conference at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. The Report is the first of its kind in the 30-year history of the Academy and also serves as a comprehensive primer on social insurance, describing its historical evolution in the United States.

Hardcopies of the Report are available to the media. Academy members and staff are available for interviews and will be conducting ongoing briefings to the Administration, the Senate, the House, and other policymakers throughout the next year. Please contact Jill Braunstein at (202) 243-2009 or [email protected].

The National Academy of Social Insurance is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization made up of the nation's leading experts on social insurance. Its mission is to advance solutions to challenges facing the nation by increasing public understanding of how social insurance contributes to economic security.