A note on financing health-care reform: Some simple arguments concerning marginal tax burden

Buchholz, Wolfgang (2005) A note on financing health-care reform: Some simple arguments concerning marginal tax burden. FINANZARCHIV, 61 (3). pp. 438-446. ISSN 0015-2218,

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Abstract

In Germany economic experts and politicians are proposing a fundamental reform of the health-care system by which the current wage-dependent contributions are replaced by flat-rate insurance premiums. One major reason behind this proposal is the wish to avoid the distortion effects caused by the present form of levying the fees, which works like a wage income tax. The purpose of this note is to show by some simple axiomatics that these hopes may be exaggerated. As social compensation is required, the reform as such does not automatically reduce the distortion effects of the current system. Welfare gains will only be generated by some additional features of the proposed system change, which are briefly discussed at the end of the paper.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: ; health-care reform; flat rate premiums; excess burdens of income taxation
Subjects: 300 Social sciences > 330 Economics
Divisions: Business, Economics and Information Systems > Institut für Volkswirtschaftslehre und Ökonometrie > Entpflichtete oder im Ruhestand befindliche Professoren > Lehrstuhl für Finanzwissenschaft, insbesondere Umweltökonomie (Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Buchholz)
Depositing User: Dr. Gernot Deinzer
Date Deposited: 02 Jun 2021 06:57
Last Modified: 02 Jun 2021 06:57
URI: https://pred.uni-regensburg.de/id/eprint/36693

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