Nonpartisan Research and Resources on Health Reform and Health Taxation Issues

From the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), www.ebri.org

Tax Treatment of Employment-Based Health Benefits:

Below is a listing of current (as of 2006) proposals for reforming the tax treatment of health insurance. All are in the June 2006 Issue Brief, The Tax Treatment of Health Insurance and Employment-Based Health Benefits:

Capping the exclusion of health benefits from employee income from the November 2005 Presidents Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform. See text on pages 13, 15, and 18.
Capping individual deduction for health insurance from the November 2005 Presidents Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform. See text on pages 18, 21, and 22.
Health savings account (HSA) expansion and tax credits from the Bush Administration Proposal. See text on pages 22-23.
Full deductibility of health care expenses from income from Cogan, Hubbard, and Kessler, Health, Wealthy, and Wise: Five Steps to a Better Health Care System The Hoover Institution. See text on pages 2324.
Reduce or eliminate business tax deduction. See text on pages 2425.

How is employment-based health insurance currently (as of 2006) treated in the tax code?: See text on page 6 in the June 2006 Issue Brief, The Tax Treatment of Health Insurance and Employment-Based Health Benefits
Is the current tax treatment of health insurance progressive or regressive?: See text on pages 6-7 and figures 1-3 on pages 89 in the June 2006 Issue Brief, The Tax Treatment of Health Insurance and Employment-Based Health Benefits
How knowledgeable are small employers of the tax treatment of employment-based health insurance?: See figure 4 on page 9 in the June 2006 Issue Brief The Tax Treatment of Health Insurance and Employment-Based Health Benefits
How knowledgeable are individuals of the tax treatment of health benefits and out-of-pocket expenses?: See figure 5 on page 11 in June 2006 Issue Brief, The Tax Treatment of Health Insurance and Employment-Based Health Benefits
Past EBRI Research on the Tax Treatment of Health Insurance:: See page 3 in the June 2006 Issue Brief, The Tax Treatment of Health Insurance and Employment-Based Health Benefits

Public Attitudes on Individual vs. Employment-Based Health Insurance:

What are various levels of public support to ensure Americans have access to health insurance?: See figure 7 on page 7 in the November 2006 EBRI Notes, 2006 Health Confidence Survey: Dissatisfaction With Health Care System Doubles Since 1998
What are individual preferences for an increase in taxable income vs. employment-based health benefits?: See figure 6 on page 11 in the June 2006 Issue Brief, The Tax Treatment of Health Insurance and Employment-Based Health Benefits
Data is presented where an individual has a choice between receiving $6,700 in taxable income instead of employment-based health benefits and $10,000.
How confident are individuals in their ability to choose the best health plan?: See figure 7 on page 12 in the June 2006 Issue Brief, The Tax Treatment of Health Insurance and Employment-Based Health Benefits
How confident are individuals in their ability to afford health insurance, assuming employer gives cash to the worker?: See figure 8 on page 12 in the June 2006 Issue Brief, The Tax Treatment of Health Insurance and Employment-Based Health Benefits
How likely are individuals to purchase insurance in the non-group market, assuming employer drops coverage?: See figure 8 on page 12 in the June 2006 Issue Brief, The Tax Treatment of Health Insurance and Employment-Based Health Benefits

Employment-Based Health Insurance Coverage:

What percentage of nonelderly Americans received their health insurance coverage through an employment-based plan, 19942005?: See figure 1 on page 4 in the October 2006 Issue Brief, Sources of Health Insurance and the Characteristics of the Uninsured: Analysis of the March 2006 Current Population Survey.
What percentage of nonelderly Americans received their health insurance coverage through an employment-based plan in 2005?: For data by own work status and work status of family head, see figure 8 on page 10.
For data by family income, see figure 14 on page 14.
For data by race and family poverty status, see figure 22 on page 21.
For data by region and state (three-year average 20032005), see figure 19 on pages 1819.
All of the above may be found in the October 2006 Issue Brief, Sources of Health Insurance and the Characteristics of the Uninsured: Analysis of the March 2006 Current Population Survey.
What are some reasons why workers are not covered by their own employers health plan, 1997 and 2002?: See figure 15 on page 15 in the November 2005 Issue Brief, Sources of Health Insurance and Characteristics of the Uninsured: Analysis of the March 2005 Current Population Survey. Data for this question come from the Survey of Income and Program Participation.
What are some reasons why workers choose not to participate in their own employers health plan, 1997 and 2002?: See figure 16 on page 15 in the November 2005 Issue Brief, Sources of Health Insurance and Characteristics of the Uninsured: Analysis of the March 2005 Current Population Survey. Data for this question come from the Survey of Income and Program Participation.
What are some reasons why workers are not eligible to participate in their own employers health plan, 1997 and 2002?: See figure 17 on page 17 in the November 2005 Issue Brief, Sources of Health Insurance and Characteristics of the Uninsured: Analysis of the March 2005 Current Population Survey. Data for this question come from the Survey of Income and Program Participation.

Employment-Based Health Benefits Design

What is the typical health benefit package in private industry?: See April 2006 EBRI Fact Sheet
Employer-Provided Health Benefits: Coverage, Provisions and Policy Issues: This study evaluates the importance of employer plans in terms of: (1) the alternative private and public sources of coverage; (2) the features of coverage provided by employer plans; and (3) the opportunity these plans offer to effectively and equitably contain health care costs.

Past Health Care Reform Proposals:

Consumer-Driven Health Benefits: A Continuing Evolution?: The focus on consumer-driven health care had replaced defined contribution health care in much of the discussion; several of the major health insurance companies had introduced consumer-driven products, making use of health spending accounts; several major employers had made consumer-driven plans available as an option to their work forces; and the Treasury Department/Internal Revenue Service had moved to embrace the new concepts as appropriate interpretations of the tax law.
The Economic Costs of the Uninsured: Implications for Business and Government: The May 2000 EBRI policy forum, and this volume, explore the social and economic impact of 18.4 percent of the under-65 population being without health insurance, what is being done to extend health insurance to more of these individuals, and what more can be done in the future.
What is managed competition?: See text on pages 4-6 in the March 1993 EBRI Issue Brief, Health Care Reform: Managed Competition and Beyond.
What are the coverage, cost, and quality concerns of selected health care reform proposals?: See Table 1, pages 6-8, in the April 1992 EBRI Issue Brief, Health Care Reform: Tradeoffs and Implications.
Government Mandating of Employee Benefits: This book is a compilation of papers presented at a 1987 EBRI policy forum. The policy forum examined the forces with which employers are contending in todays competitive environment; reviewed recent state and federal responses to the pressures to provide expanded health, pension, and other benefit programs; and discussed the impact of mandated-benefit programs on employers, workers, and the economy.
The Changing Health Care Market: This book identifies the myriad changes in health care financing and delivery in the United States; relates them to the current needs, prior efforts, and future plans of employers who have been redesigning their health programs to better manage their costs; and raises the broader public policy issue of concern to us all, namely the provision of quality health care to the broadest number of people at the lowest possible cost.