ABSTRACT
A refundable tax credit for the uninsured would complement the existing job-based health insurance system while letting people keep their job-based coverage if they wish. Among the wide variety of design options for a tax credit, policy and political analysis does not reveal an obvious choice, but a tax credit based on a percentage of spending may have a slight advantage. Congress should give states maximum flexibility to use existing funding sources to supplement the value of a federal tax credit and encourage the use of techniques to create stable insurance pools.
Subject(s)
Choice Behavior , Health Benefit Plans, Employee/organization & administration , Health Services Accessibility/economics , Income Tax/legislation & jurisprudence , Insurance Coverage/organization & administration , Medically Uninsured , Humans , Insurance Pools/organization & administration , Medically Uninsured/psychology , Medically Uninsured/statistics & numerical data , National Health Insurance, United States/economics , Program Development , United StatesABSTRACT
Health reform isn't a popular subject in Washington these days, but problems of cost and access persist. The author, a senior health policy analyst for the Progressive Policy Institute, argues that in next year's debate of tax reform, a few modest changes could lead to a more effective and universal market for health care.
