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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

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Economics

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David Powell

Health

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Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Optimal Health Insurance And The Distortionary Effects Of The Tax Subsidy, David Powell Jan 2016

Optimal Health Insurance And The Distortionary Effects Of The Tax Subsidy, David Powell

David Powell

The tax exclusion of health insurance premiums represents the largest source of tax expenditures in the United States while reducing the after-tax price of insurance for the majority of households. This paper develops a model of optimal health insurance in the presence of a tax-deductible premium as well as considering the implications of the Affordable Care Act's ``Cadillac tax." While there is a long literature discussing the possible consequences of subsidizing health insurance through the tax code, we have little evidence about how the tax subsidy distorts the optimal cost-sharing schedule for a household. This paper provides theoretical and empirical …


Medical Care Spending And Labor Market Outcomes: Evidence From Workers' Compensation Reforms, David Powell, Seth Seabury Jan 2015

Medical Care Spending And Labor Market Outcomes: Evidence From Workers' Compensation Reforms, David Powell, Seth Seabury

David Powell

This paper studies the effectiveness of medical care spending on improving labor outcomes. Injuries sustained at work represent large income and welfare losses to households and there is a significant policy interest in reducing these burdens. Workers' compensation program is a large government program which provides monetary and medical benefits to injured workers. Despite the potential importance of medical care in improving the health and labor productivity of injured workers, little research has addressed the relationship between medical care provided through workers' compensation and post-injury labor outcomes. This paper exploits the 2003-2004 California workers' compensation reforms which reduced medical care …