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The Tax Exclusion for Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance

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  • Jonathan Gruber

Abstract

This paper reviews the issues around and impacts of the tax exclusion for employer-sponsored insurance. After reviewing the arguments for and against this policy, I present micro-simulation evidence on the federal revenue, insurance coverage, and distributional impacts of various reforms to the exclusion.

Suggested Citation

  • Jonathan Gruber, 2010. "The Tax Exclusion for Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance," NBER Working Papers 15766, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:15766
    Note: AG EH PE
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jonathan Gruber, 2008. "Covering the Uninsured in the United States," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 46(3), pages 571-606, September.
    2. Jonathan Gruber, 2002. "Taxes and Health Insurance," NBER Chapters, in: Tax Policy and the Economy, Volume 16, pages 37-66, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Gruber, Jonathan & Lettau, Michael, 2004. "How elastic is the firm's demand for health insurance?," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(7-8), pages 1273-1293, July.
    4. Jonathan Gruber, 2005. "Tax Policy for Health Insurance," NBER Chapters, in: Tax Policy and the Economy, Volume 19, pages 39-64, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Melissa A. Thomasson, 2003. "The Importance of Group Coverage: How Tax Policy Shaped U.S. Health Insurance," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 93(4), pages 1373-1384, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Blog mentions

    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. Daily Rounds: Untaxed Health Insurance; Lifesaving Diet; Digital Diagnoses; Royal Morning Sickness
      by ? in CommonHealth on 2012-12-04 18:02:21
    2. The Huge (And Rarely Discussed) Health Insurance Tax Break
      by ? in Shots - Health News on 2012-12-04 14:48:00

    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Cowan, Benjamin & Schwab, Benjamin, 2016. "Employer-sponsored health insurance and the gender wage gap," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 103-114.
    2. Paige Qin & Michael Chernew, 2013. "Compensating Wage Differentials and the Impact of Health Insurance in the Public Sector on Wages and Hours," NBER Chapters, in: State and Local Health Plans for Active and Retired Public Employees, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Gillette, Robert & Hunter, Gillian & Lurie, Ithai Z. & Siegel, Jonathan & Silverstein, Gerald, 2010. "The Impact of Repealing the Exclusion for Employer-Sponsored Insurance," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 63(4), pages 695-707, December.
    4. Keith M. Marzilli Ericson & Amanda Starc, 2015. "Pricing Regulation and Imperfect Competition on the Massachusetts Health Insurance Exchange," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 97(3), pages 667-682, July.
    5. Cowan, Benjamin & Schwab, Benjamin, 2011. "The incidence of the healthcare costs of smoking," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(5), pages 1094-1102.
    6. Dizioli, Allan & Pinheiro, Roberto, 2016. "Health insurance as a productive factor," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 1-24.
    7. G. Edward Miller & Thomas M. Selden & Jessica S. Banthin, 2014. "Employer-Sim Microsimulation Model: Model Development and Application to Estimation of Tax Subsidies to Health Insurance," Working Papers 14-46, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    8. Agustin Redonda, 2016. "Tax Expenditures and Sustainability. An Overview," Discussion Notes 1603, Council on Economic Policies.
    9. Vanesa Jorda & Jose M. Alonso, 2020. "What works to mitigate and reduce relative (and absolute) inequality?: A systematic review," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2020-152, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • H2 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue
    • I1 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health

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