Jonathan Gruber

Jonathan Holmes Gruber (born September 30, 1965) is an American professor of economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he has taught since 1992.

He is also the director of the Health Care Program at the National Bureau of Economic Research, where he is a research associate.

An associate editor of both the Journal of Public Economics and the Journal of Health Economics, Gruber has been heavily involved in crafting public health policy.

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, having taught there for more than 40 years.

Jonathan Gruber was raised in the New York suburb of Ridgewood, New Jersey.

He completed his BS in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1987 and his PhD in economics from Harvard University in 1992, with a thesis titled Changes in the Structure of Employer-Provided Health Insurance.

He has 3 children, Rachel, Jack, and Ava Gruber.

Gruber began his career as an assistant professor of economics at MIT in 1992.

He is also a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research.

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).

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.

From 2003 to 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.

From 2003 to 2006 he was one of the architects of Massachusetts health care reform, also known as "Romneycare."

He was elected a member of the Institute of Medicine in 2005.

He has been described as a key architect of both the 2006 Massachusetts health care reform, sometimes referred to as "Romneycare", and the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, sometimes referred to as the "ACA" and "Obamacare".

In 2006 he won the American Society of Health Economists Inaugural Medal for the best health economist in the nation aged 40 and under.

In 2006 he became an inaugural member of the Health Connector Board, the main implementing body for that effort.

In 2006, Gruber received the American Society of Health Economists Inaugural Medal for the best health economist in the nation aged 40 and under.

During the 2008 election he was a consultant to the Clinton, Edwards and Obama presidential campaigns.

From 2009 to 2010, Gruber served as a technical consultant to the Obama Administration and worked with both the administration and U.S. Congress to help craft the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, often referred to as the ACA or "Obamacare".

In 2009 he was elected to the Executive Committee of the American Economic Association.

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.

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

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 2011 he was named “One of the Top 25 Most Innovative and Practical Thinkers of Our Time” by Slate Magazine.

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.

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.

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.

Gruber was ousted from the Massachusetts Health Connector in February 2015.

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.