Jonathan Holmes Gruber (born September 30, 1965) is an American professor of economics at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

, where he has taught since 1992. He is also the director of the Health Care Program at the

National Bureau of Economic Research The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) is an American private nonprofit research organization "committed to undertaking and disseminating unbiased economic research among public policymakers, business professionals, and the academic c ...

, where he is a research associate. An associate editor of both the ''Journal of Public Economics'' and the ''

Journal of Health Economics The ''Journal of Health Economics'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal that publishes articles about health economics and related fields concerning human health care and medicine. The journal is published six times annually by Elsevier. The ed ...

'', Gruber has been heavily involved in crafting

public health policy Health policy can be defined as the "decisions, plans, and actions that are undertaken to achieve specific healthcare goals within a society".World Health Organization''Health Policy'' accessed 22 March 2011(Web archive)/ref> According to the ...

. He has been described as a key architect of both the 2006

Massachusetts health care reform The Massachusetts health care reform, commonly referred to as Romneycare, was a healthcare reform law passed in 2006 and signed into law by Governor Mitt Romney with the aim of providing health insurance to nearly all of the residents of the Co ...

, sometimes referred to as "Romneycare", and the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, sometimes referred to as the "ACA" and "Obamacare". He became the focus of media and political controversy in late 2014 when videos surfaced in which he made controversial statements about the legislative process, marketing strategies, and public perception surrounding the passage of the ACA.

Early life

Gruber was born on September 30, 1965, the son of Martin Jay Gruber and Ellie Gruber. His father is Professor Emeritus of Finance at the

New York University Stern School of Business The New York University Leonard N. Stern School of Business (commonly referred to as NYU Stern, The Stern School of Business, or simply Stern) is the business school of New York University, a private research university based in New York City. I ...

, having taught there for more than 40 years. Jonathan Gruber was raised in the New York suburb of

Ridgewood, New Jersey Ridgewood is a village in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 24,958,BS in

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...

from the

in 1987 and his PhD in economics from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

in 1992, with a thesis titled ''Changes in the Structure of Employer-Provided Health Insurance''.

Academic research career

Gruber began his career as an assistant professor of economics at MIT in 1992. He is also a research associate at the

. Gruber's research has focused on public finance and health economics. He has published over 150 research articles and has had his hand in editing six research volumes. He has written ''Public Finance and Public Policy'', ''Health Care Reform'' and ''Jump-Starting America: How Breakthrough Science Can Revived Economic Growth and the American Dream'' (with Simon Johnson). In 2006 he won the American Society of Health Economists Inaugural Medal for the best health economist in the nation aged 40 and under. From 2003-2006, Gruber was an essential architect in Massachusetts' health reform effort and became an inaugural member of the Health Connector Board whose job was to oversee these efforts. Later, Gruber was involved in the creation of the Affordable Care Act and Patient Protection Act. He worked closely with the Obama administration and Congress as a technical consultant.

Government work and consulting

During the 1997–98 academic year, Gruber was on leave as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy at the

United States Department of the Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and ...

Massachusetts health care reform

From 2003-06 he was one of the architects of

, also known as "Romneycare." In 2006 he became an inaugural member of the Health Connector Board, the main implementing body for that effort. Gruber was ousted from the Massachusetts Health Connector in February 2015.

Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

During the 2008 election he was a consultant to the Clinton, Edwards and

Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

presidential campaigns. From 2009-10, Gruber served as a technical consultant to the Obama Administration and worked with both the administration and

U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washin ...

to help craft the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, often referred to as the ACA or "Obamacare". The Act was signed into law in March 2010, and Gruber has been described as an "architect", "writer", and "consultant" of the legislation. He was widely interviewed and quoted during the legislation's roll-out.

Vermont health care reform

In 2010 and 2011, Gruber was involved in crafting and advocating for the Single-Payer and Unified Health System bill in

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

, which passed in May 2011."The Vermont Option: Achieving Affordable Universal Health Care"
William Hsaio, Steven Kappel, Jonathan Gruber, and a team of health policy analysts, June 21, 2010. The bill established Green Mountain Care, which aimed to be the first-ever state-level single-payer health care system in the United States by the time it was to have kicked in fully in 2017. Green Mountain Care was cancelled in December 2014 by Governor Peter Shumlin saying its projected costs were becoming too high. Jonathan Gruber was later sued by the state of Vermont for falsely claiming hours worked by his research assistant which he invoiced the state for. He denies the claims and settled out of court forfeiting almost $100,000.

Writing

Gruber has published more than 140 research articles (the majority of which were for NBER) and has edited six research volumes. He is a co-editor of the ''Journal of Public Economics'', an associate editor of the ''Journal of Health Economics'', and the author of ''Public Finance and Public Policy''. In 2011, he wrote ''Health Care Reform: What It Is, Why It's Necessary, How It Works'', delineating the Affordable Care Act, and illustrated by Nathan Schreiber. Gruber's published works include: * In 1999, the ''

Quarterly Journal of Economics ''The Quarterly Journal of Economics'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by the Oxford University Press for the Harvard University Department of Economics. Its current editors-in-chief are Robert J. Barro, Lawrence F. Katz, Nathan ...

'' published "Abortion legalization and child living circumstances: who is the 'marginal child'?" which suggests that the legalized abortion has a selective effect for reducing the birth of "marginal children" that saved the government over $14 billion in welfare payments through 1994. * Writing for the

in 2002, Gruber worked together with

Sendhil Mullainathan Sendhil Mullainathan () (born c. 1973) is an American professor of Computation and Behavioral Science at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and the author of '' Scarcity: Why Having Too Little Means So Much'' (with Eldar Sha ...

on a paper titled “Do Cigarette Taxes Make Smokers Happier", which did find an improvement in smokers’ psychological state because higher taxes were a disincentive to smoking. * On February 15, 2006, the

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) is a progressive American think tank that analyzes the impact of federal and state government budget policies. A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the Center's stated mission is to "conduct resear ...

published an article by Gruber entitled "The Cost and Coverage Impact of the President's Health Insurance Budget Proposals" * In a December 4, 2008 editorial in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', "Medicine for the Job Market", he claimed that expanding health insurance, even in difficult financial times, would stimulate the economy. * In an article for the National Institute for Health Care Management Foundation in April 2010, "Taxing Sin to Modify Behavior and Raise Revenue", Gruber advocated a sort of "

sin tax A sin tax is an excise tax specifically levied on certain goods deemed harmful to society and individuals, such as alcohol, tobacco, drugs, candies, soft drinks, fast foods, coffee, sugar, gambling, and pornography. In contrast to Pigovian ta ...

" for the obese. He uses the model of cigarette taxes. * On February 9, 2011, the

Center for American Progress The Center for American Progress (CAP) is a public policy research and advocacy organization which presents a liberal viewpoint on economic and social issues. It has its headquarters in Washington, D.C. The president and chief executive offic ...

published an article by Gruber titled "Health Care Reform Without the Individual Mandate", analyzing the health insurance coverage impacts of alternative policy options for encouraging purchase of health insurance under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, including the mandate, a late penalty, and automatic enrollment.

Awards

In 2006, Gruber received the American Society of Health Economists Inaugural Medal for the best health economist in the nation aged 40 and under. He was elected a member of the Institute of Medicine in 2005. In 2009 he was elected to the Executive Committee of the American Economic Association. In 2011 he was named “One of the Top 25 Most Innovative and Practical Thinkers of Our Time” by '' Slate'' Magazine. In both 2006 and 2012 he was rated as one of the top 100 most powerful people in health care in the United States by ''Modern Healthcare'' Magazine.

Controversies

Non-disclosure of HHS contract

In January 2010, after news emerged that Gruber was under a $297,000 contract with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, while at the same time promoting the Obama administration's health care reform policies, some commentators suggested a conflict of interest.

Paul Krugman Paul Robin Krugman ( ; born February 28, 1953) is an American economist, who is Distinguished Professor of Economics at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, and a columnist for ''The New York Times''. In 2008, Krugman was ...

in ''

'' argued that, although Gruber didn't always disclose his HHS connections, the times when he didn't were no big deal. In response to Krugman's contention, '' Salons

Glenn Greenwald Glenn Edward Greenwald (born March 6, 1967) is an American journalist, author and lawyer. In 2014, he cofounded ''The Intercept'', of which he was an editor until he resigned in October 2020. Greenwald subsequently started publishing on Substac ...

wrote, "What will make it impossible to effectively call out wrongdoing by future corrupt administrations (by which Krugman seems to mean: Republican administrations) is the willingness of some people to tolerate and defend corruption when done by 'their side.'"

Description of ACA subsidies

One heavily scrutinized part of the ACA reads that subsidies should be given to healthcare recipients who are enrolled "through an Exchange established by the State". Some have read this to mean that subsidies can be given only in states that have chosen to create their own healthcare exchanges, and do not use the federal exchange, while the Obama administration says that the wording applies to all states. This dispute was part of a series of lawsuits referred to collectively as '' King v. Burwell''. In July 2014, two separate recordings of Gruber, both from January 2012, surfaced in which he seemed to contradict the administration's position. In one, Gruber states, in response to an audience question, that "if you’re a state and you don’t set up an exchange, that means your citizens don't get their

tax credits A tax credit is a tax incentive which allows certain taxpayers to subtract the amount of the credit they have accrued from the total they owe the state. It may also be a credit granted in recognition of taxes already paid or a form of state "disc ...

", while in the other he says, "if your governor doesn't set up an exchange, you're losing hundreds of millions of dollars of tax credits to be delivered to your citizens". When these recordings emerged, Gruber called these statements mistaken, describing them as "just a speak-o—you know, like a typo".

"Grubergate" videos controversy

In November 2014, a series of videos emerged of Gruber speaking about the ACA at different events, from 2010 to 2013, in ways that proved to be controversial; the controversy became known in the press as "Grubergate". In the first, most widely publicized video, taken at a panel discussion about the ACA at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

in October 2013, Gruber said the bill was deliberately written "in a tortured way" to disguise the fact that it creates a system by which "healthy people pay in and sick people get money". He said this obfuscation was needed due to "the stupidity of the American voter" in ensuring the bill's passage. Gruber said the bill's inherent "lack of transparency is a huge political advantage" in selling it. The comments caused significant controversy. As a result, a contract he had with the office of the Auditor of North Carolina to assist in auditing a Medicaid program was terminated. In two subsequent videos, Gruber was shown talking about the decision (which he attributed to

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party, he ...

) to have the bill tax insurance companies instead of patients (the so-called "Cadillac tax"), which he called fundamentally the same thing economically but more palatable politically. In one video, he stated that "the American people are too stupid to understand the difference" between the two approaches, while in the other he said that the switch worked due to "the lack of economic understanding of the American voter". In another video, taken in 2010, Gruber expressed doubts that the ACA would significantly reduce health care costs, although he noted that lowering costs played a major part in the way the legislation had been promoted. In another video, taken in 2011, Gruber again talks about manipulation behind the "Cadillac tax", this time also stating that the tax is designed so that, though it begins by affecting only 8% of insurance plans, it will "over the next 20 years" come to apply to nearly all employer-provided health plans. Journalist

Jake Tapper Jacob Paul Tapper (born March 12, 1969) is an American journalist, author, and cartoonist. He is the lead Washington anchor for CNN, hosts the weekday television news show '' The Lead with Jake Tapper'', and co-hosts the Sunday morning public a ...

noted that Gruber's description of the "Cadillac tax" directly contradicted a promise that Obama had made before the bill was passed. After the first of these videos came out, Gruber apologized and conceded he "spoke inappropriately". Some defenders of the ACA, such as

Jonathan Cohn Jonathan Scott Cohn (born 1969) is an American author and journalist who writes mainly on United States public policy and political issues. Formerly the executive editor of ''The American Prospect'' and a senior editor at ''The New Republic'', C ...

, called Gruber's statements about Americans "wrong and inappropriate" while maintaining that the trickery of which Gruber spoke was standard procedure in passing legislation in Washington, D.C., and thus not a cause for scandal. Opponents of the Act, on the other hand, were harsher in their criticism: '' National Review Online'' editor and conservative commentator

Rich Lowry Richard Lowry (; born August 22, 1968) is an American writer who is the former editor and now editor-in-chief of ''National Review'', an American conservative news and opinion magazine. Lowry became editor of ''National Review'' in 1997 when selec ...

said the videos were emblematic of "the progressive mind, which values complexity over simplicity, favors indirect taxes and impositions on the American public so their costs can be hidden, and has a dim view of the average American", while commentator Charles Krauthammer called the first video "the ultimate vindication of the charge that Obamacare was sold on a pack of lies." Conservative

S.E. Cupp SE, Se, or Sé may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Sé'' (album), by Lúnasa, 2006 * Se (instrument), a traditional Chinese musical instrument Businesses and organizations * Sea Ltd (NYSE: SE), tech conglomerate headquartered in Singapore ...

wrote that the videos showed "willful ignorance" on Gruber's part in thinking that the Act was successfully marketed to voters, stating that "the law has never cracked a 51% favorability rating" and that, in the first elections after the ACA passed, Republicans, who had opposed it, retook the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

and gained control of 11 additional state governorships. Nancy Pelosi, then-Speaker of the House, who successfully shepherded the legislation through the

, without a single GOP vote and despite some opposition from pro-life Democrats, stated in a press conference after the Gruber controversy, "So I don't know who he is. He didn't help write our bill", a comment PolitiFact described as "inaccurate".

Congressional hearing

In the wake of the controversy, Jonathan Gruber was called to testify before members of

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

. He gave testimony on December 9, 2014, in which he apologized for his remarks, which he called "glib, thoughtless, and sometimes downright insulting". ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'', in an editorial, called Gruber's apology unpersuasive, saying that "his response to substantive questions suggested that he is mainly sorry for getting caught on tape".

Effect on Vermont single-payer plan

On December 17, 2014, Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin cancelled the Vermont health care reform plan, on which Gruber had served as a consultant. Although budgetary concerns were cited as the reason for the cancellation, some called Gruber's involvement with the plan a factor as well. According to

VPR Vpr is a Human immunodeficiency virus gene and protein product. Vpr stands for "Viral Protein R". Vpr, a 96 amino acid 14-kDa protein, plays an important role in regulating nuclear import of the HIV-1 pre-integration complex, and is required for ...

, Vermont state auditor Doug Hoffer is auditing Gruber's contracts for Vermont health care reform, which Gruber "helped Vermont design".

Extent of contributions

The extent of Gruber's contributions to both Massachusetts and federal health care reform has been the source of significant controversy. In 2014, the Obama administration claimed that Gruber did not have a major role in creating the ACA. According to emails released by the U.S. House Oversight Committee to ''

'', Gruber met and consulted with various Obama administration officials in charge of writing and developing the law, including

Peter Orszag Peter Richard Orszag (born December 16, 1968) is the CEO of Financial Advisory at Lazard. Before June 2019, he was the firm's Head of North American M&A and Global Co-Head of Healthcare. Orszag previously served as a Vice Chairman of Corporate ...

, who was director of the

Office of Management and Budget The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is the largest office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP). OMB's most prominent function is to produce the president's budget, but it also examines agency programs, pol ...

(OMB),

Jason Furman Jason Furman (born August 18, 1970) is an American economist and professor at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government and a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. On June 10, 2013, Furman was named ...

, an economic adviser to the president,

Ezekiel Emanuel Ezekiel Jonathan "Zeke" Emanuel (born September 6, 1957) is an American oncologist, bioethicist and senior fellow at the Center for American Progress. He is the current Vice Provost for Global Initiatives at the University of Pennsylvania and chai ...

, who was then a special adviser for health policy at OMB, Jeanne Lambrew, a top Obama administration health adviser who worked at HHS and the White House, and

Lawrence Summers Lawrence Henry Summers (born November 30, 1954) is an American economist who served as the 71st United States secretary of the treasury from 1999 to 2001 and as director of the National Economic Council from 2009 to 2010. He also served as pres ...

, then a top economic adviser in the administration. In July 2009, he was invited to meet personally with Obama. During his December 2014 congressional hearing, in both his written and oral testimony, Gruber downplayed his own influence on the Massachusetts and national health care plans, stating: "I did not draft Governor Romney’s health care plan, and I was not the 'architect' of President Obama’s health care plan." The newspaper '' The Hill'' called this a contradiction of various statements that Gruber had previously made, claiming that at "numerous speeches, lectures and TV interviews in the past four years, Gruber has been introduced as the 'architect' of the Massachusetts law and/or Obamacare".

References

External links

CV of Jonathan Gruber

National_Bureau_of_Economic_Research
_Publications_by_Jonathan_Gruber.html" ;"title="National Bureau of Economic Research">National Bureau of Economic Research
Publications by Jonathan Gruber">National Bureau of Economic Research">National Bureau of Economic Research
Publications by Jonathan Gruber
MIT Faculty Profile - Jonathan Gruber
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gruber, Jonathan 1965 births 20th-century American economists 21st-century American economists 20th-century American Jews Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Fellows of the Econometric Society Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni Health economists Living people MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences alumni MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences faculty 21st-century American Jews Members of the National Academy of Medicine