Tax subsidies for private health insurance - july 2009 update.

Tax subsides for employer-sponsored health insurance are the largest subsidy for private health insurance and support key mechanisms of the U.S. insurance system, but they overwhelmingly benefit high-wage employees.

Tax subsidies for private health insurance.

The exclusion from income and payroll taxes for employer-paid health insurance premiums amounted to more than $240 billion in 2010. As policy-makers search for ways to pay for health care reform and contain health care costs, this exclusion is coming under scrutiny, despite the fact that employee-sponsored insurance (ESI) is an integral part of the health insurance system. This update of a 2003 synthesis looks at the tax subsidy for private health insurance.