The Effect of Tax Preferences on Health Spending
In this paper, we estimate the effect of the tax preference for health insurance on health care spending using data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Surveys from 1996-2005. We use the fact that Social Security taxes are only levied on earnings below a statutory threshold to identify the impact of the tax preference. Because employer-sponsored health insurance premiums are excluded from Social Security payroll taxes, workers who earn just below the Social Security tax threshold receive a larger tax preference for health insurance than workers who earn just above it. We find a significant effect of the tax preference, consistent with previous research.
-
-
Copy CitationJohn F. Cogan, R. Glenn Hubbard, and Daniel P. Kessler, "The Effect of Tax Preferences on Health Spending," NBER Working Paper 13767 (2008), https://doi.org/10.3386/w13767.Download Citation
-
Published Versions
THE EFFECT OF TAX PREFERENCES ON HEALTH SPENDING AUTHOR(S) Cogan, John F.; Hubbard, R. Glenn; Kessler, Daniel P. PUB. DATE September 2011 SOURCE National Tax Journal;Sep2011, Vol. 64 Issue 3, p795
Related
Programs
More from the NBER
In addition to working papers, the NBER disseminates affiliates’ latest findings through a range of free periodicals — the NBER Reporter, the NBER Digest, the Bulletin on Health, and the Bulletin on Entrepreneurship — as well as online conference reports, video lectures, and interviews.
