TAX EXPENDITURES FOR HEALTH CARE
- 1 June 1979
- journal article
- research article
- Published by University of Chicago Press in National Tax Journal
- Vol. 32 (2) , 101-115
- https://doi.org/10.1086/ntj41862213
Abstract
Over $11 billion of Federal income tax expenditures are provided currently through the exclusion or deduction from the income tax base of payments for certain medical expenses. These expenditures cover about 9 percent of total private expenditures for health care. This paper discusses the history of these expenditures, their growth, their effect on the price and demand of medical care, and the effect of changes in Federal health policy upon the nature and size of these tax expenditures. On both equity and efficiency grounds, it is concluded that these tax expenditures could be designed better as direct expenditure programs.Keywords
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