A tax reform strategy to deal with the uninsured
S. M. Butler
Heritage Foundation, Washington, DC 20002.
The high level of ininsurance in the United States is due in large measure
to the tax treatment of health care, which is based on the tax exclusion
for company-provided plans. Correcting the perverse incentives for
providers and patients resulting from this tax treatment is the crucial
step to creating a national health care system that is affordable and
efficient. The Heritage Foundation proposal calls for the elimination of
the current tax exclusion and its replacement with a system of refundable
tax credits for the purchase of health insurance and medical services.
