Health Affairs

Health Affairs, 27, no. 6 (2008): w472-w481 (Published online 16 September 2008) doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.27.6.w472 © 2008 by Project HOPE	New Online   Getting Health Reform Done   After the State of the Union   Incremental Reform   E-Health in Developing World   Most-Read Articles in 2009

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Cost And Coverage: Implications Of The McCain Plan To Restructure Health Insurance

Thomas Buchmueller, Sherry A. Glied, Anne Royalty and Katherine Swartz

Senator John McCain’s (R-AZ) health plan would eliminate the current tax exclusion of employer payments for health coverage, replace the exclusion with a refundable tax credit for those who purchase coverage, and encourage Americans to move to a national market for nongroup insurance. Middle-range estimates suggest that initially this change will have little impact on the number of uninsured people, although within five years this number will likely grow as the value of the tax credit falls relative to rising health care costs. Moving toward a relatively unregulated nongroup market will tend to raise costs, reduce the generosity of benefits, and leave people with fewer consumer protections.

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