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

Author

Listed:
  • Gulcin Gumus

    (Department of Health Policy and Management, Department of Economics, Florida International University, and IZA, Bonn, Germany)

  • Tracy Regan

    (Department of Economics, University of Miami)

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.

Suggested Citation

  • Gulcin Gumus & Tracy Regan, 2006. "Tax Incentives as a Solution to the Uninsured: Evidence from the Self-Employed," Working Papers 0911, University of Miami, Department of Economics, revised Oct 2008.
    • Handle: RePEc:mia:wpaper:0911
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    File URL: https://www.herbert.miami.edu/_assets/files/repec/wp2009-11-insurance-2008.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Fossen, Frank M. & König, Johannes, 2015. "Public health insurance and entry into self-employment," VfS Annual Conference 2015 (Muenster): Economic Development - Theory and Policy 112934, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    2. Gulcin Gumus & Tracy Regan, 2007. "Self-Employment and the Role of Health Insurance," Working Papers 0910, University of Miami, Department of Economics.
    3. Gumus, Gulcin & Regan, Tracy L., 2015. "Self-employment and the role of health insurance in the U.S," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 30(3), pages 357-374.
    4. Frank M. Fossen & Johannes König, 2017. "Public health insurance, individual health, and entry into self-employment," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 49(3), pages 647-669, October.
    5. Velamuri, Malathi, 2009. "Taxes, Health Insurance and Women’s Self-Employment," MPRA Paper 15731, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Heim, Bradley T. & Lurie, Ithai Z., 2010. "The effect of self-employed health insurance subsidies on self-employment," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(11-12), pages 995-1007, December.
    7. Fairlie, Robert W. & Kapur, Kanika & Gates, Susan, 2011. "Is employer-based health insurance a barrier to entrepreneurship?," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(1), pages 146-162, January.
    8. Yu-Chen Kuo & Jia-Huey Lin, 2020. "Picking the lock: how universal healthcare programs influence entrepreneurial activities," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 54(1), pages 3-24, January.
    9. Heim, Bradley T. & Lurie, Ithai Z., 2009. "Do increased premium subsidies affect how much health insurance is purchased? Evidence from the self-employed," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(6), pages 1197-1210, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Health insurance; self-employment; elasticity; CPS;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J32 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Nonwage Labor Costs and Benefits; Retirement Plans; Private Pensions
    • J48 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Particular Labor Markets; Public Policy
    • I11 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Analysis of Health Care Markets

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