Tax policy for health insurance
By: Jonathan Gruber.
Contributors: National Bureau of Economic Research.
Series: NBER working paper series ;; working paper 10977; Working paper series (National Bureau of Economic Research : Online) ;; working paper no. 10977.
Publisher: National Bureau of Economic Research
Published: 2004
Place of publication: Cambridge, MA
Language: eng
Format: Electronic resource
Subjects: Insurance, Health -- United States -- Mathematical models; Tax credits -- United States -- Mathematical models
Description: "Despite a $140 billion existing tax break for employer-provided health insurance, tax policy remains the tool of choice for many policy-makers in addressing the problem of the uninsured.  In this paper, I use a microsimulation model to estimate the impact of various tax interventions to cover the uninsured, relative to an expansion of public insurance designed to accomplish the same goals.  I contrast the efficiency of these policies along several dimensions, most notably the dollars of public spending per dollar of insurance value provided.  I find that every tax policy is much less efficient than public insurance expansions: while public insurance costs the government only between $1.17 and $1.33 per dollar of insurance value provided, tax policies cost the government between $2.36 and $12.98 per dollar of insurance value provided.  I also find that targeting is crucial for efficient tax policy; policies tightly targeted to the lowest income earners have a much higher efficiency than those available higher in the income distribution.  Within tax policies, tax credits aimed at employers are the most efficient, and tax credits aimed at employees are the least efficient, because the single greatest determinant of insurance coverage is being offered insurance by your employer, and because most employees who are offered already take up that insurance.  Tax credits targeted at non-group coverage are fairly similar to employer tax credits at low levels, but much less efficient at higher levels"--National Bureau of Economic Research web site.
Notes: Also available in print.
Includes bibliographical references.
Title from PDF file as viewed on 1/6/2005.
System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Mode of access: World Wide Web.