I have written about this topic before - policymakers lament trying to find dollars to help get more people health care, yet millions of workers reap overly generous tax benefits when their employer pays all or part of their health care coverage.  These generous tax benefits represent dollars from the federal and state budgets that could be used for other purposes. And, the problem is even worse because having so many insured employees not directly involved in how much their health care coverage costs tends to make them get too much health care at times, which drives up costs for everyone.

Here are prior posts:

• Health Care Spending versus Extending 2001/2003 Tax Cuts - Tough Issues
• Tax Reform and Health Care Reform

On 7/31/08, the Senate Finance Committee held a hearing on Health Benefits in the Tax Code: The Right Incentives.

Each of the three witnesses commented on the exclusion for employer-provided health insurance. Joint Committee on Taxation Chief of Staff Edward Kleinbard noted: