ANN ARBOR—The U.S. Census Bureau will release its 2012 statistics on poverty and health insurance coverage Tuesday (Sept. 17). The University of Michigan has experts to share their perspectives about the findings. They include:

Tom Buchmueller, the Waldo O. Hildebrand Professor of Risk Management and Insurance at the Ross School of Business, is an expert on the economics of health insurance and related public policy issues. His work has examined the relationship between employer-sponsored insurance and labor market outcomes, interactions between the public sector and private insurance markets, and consumer demand for health insurance. Contact: (734) 764-5933 or tbuch@umich.edu.

Sheldon Danziger, the H. J. Meyer Distinguished University Professor of Public Policy, is a scholar of poverty, income inequality, social welfare programs and policy. He’s on leave from the National Poverty Center at the U-M Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy and is the president of the Russell Sage Foundation. Contact: (734) 615-8321 or sheldond@umich.edu.

Richard Hirth, professor and associate chair of the Department of Health Management and Policy at the U-M School of Public Health, can discuss the general economics of health insurance. He’s also a professor in the Department of Internal Medicine. Contact: (734) 936-1306 or rhirth@umich.edu.

Helen Levy, research associate professor at the Ford School of Public Policy, School of Public Health and Institute for Social Research, is an expert on the causes and consequences of lacking health insurance, evaluation of public health insurance programs and the role of health literacy in explaining disparities in health outcomes. Contact: (734) 936-4506 or hlevy@umich.edu.

Reuben Miller, assistant professor of social work, specializes in social welfare policy and the urban poor. He has a forthcoming handbook on poverty in the U.S. and has written articles in journals of criminology, public health and poverty studies. Contact: (734) 763-5951 or mreuben@umich.edu.

Kristin Seefeldt, assistant professor of social work, explores how low-income individuals understand their situations, particularly around issues related to work and economic well-being. She is conducting research on families financial coping strategies and is a principal investigator of a survey examining the effects of the recession and recovery policies on individuals well being. Contact: (734) 615-2113 or kseef@umich.edu.

Luke Shaefer, assistant professor of social work, can discuss the measurement of poverty and alternative metrics for measuring hardship. He has published articles on rising extreme poverty in the U.S., the effects of major anti-poverty programs, and low-wage work. Contact: (734) 936-5065 or lshaefer@umich.edu.

Michael Traugott, professor of communication studies and political science, is a nationally recognized expert in political communication and polls. He can discuss how President Obama has handled the poverty issue. Contact: (734) 763-4702 or mtrau@umich.edu.