Tax Incentives as a Solution to the Uninsured: Evidence from the Self-Employed

Gulcin Gumus and Tracy Regan

No 911, Working Papers from University of Miami, Department of Economics

Abstract: Between 1996 and 2003, a series of amendments were made to the Tax Reform Act of 1986 that gradually increased the tax deduction for health insurance purchases by the self-employed from 25 to 100 percent. We study how these changes have influenced the likelihood that a self-employed person has health insurance coverage as the policy holder. The Current Population Survey is used to construct a data set corresponding to 1995-2005. Both the difference-in-difference and price elasticity of demand estimates suggest that the series of tax deductions did not provide sufficient incentives for the self-employed to obtain health insurance coverage.

Keywords: Health insurance; self-employment; elasticity; CPS (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I11 J32 J48 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 42 pages
Date: 2006-05, Revised 2008-10
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (14)

Forthcoming: Under Review

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.herbert.miami.edu/_assets/files/repec/wp2009-11-insurance-2008.pdf First Version, 2006; Revised version, 2008 (application/pdf)

Related works:
Working Paper: Tax Incentives as a Solution to the Uninsured: Evidence from the Self-Employed (2007)
Working Paper: Tax Incentives as a Solution to the Uninsured: Evidence from the Self-Employed (2007)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:mia:wpaper:0911

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