Testimony Tax Code and Health Insurance Coverage
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Before the House Committee on the Budget
Leonard E. Burman
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In this testimony Burman argues that there are limitations to using tax credits to expand health insurance coverage. A program of health insurance tax credits combined with reforms of the market for nongroup health insurance could significantly expand coverage, but at a very high cost. The testimony summarizes the current tax treatment of health insurance, the effects of tax subsidies on coverage and health care costs, and discusses ways that tax credits might affect health coverage. Burman offers recommendations and adds that the most cost-effective approach to expanding health insurance coverage may not be a tax subsidy at all, but an expansion of an existing public program, such as Medicaid, S-CHIP, or Medicare.
Research Areas Economic mobility and inequality Aging and retirement Taxes and budgets
Tags Fiscal policy Health insurance Individual taxes Federal budget and economy
Policy Centers Income and Benefits Policy Center