Most people don’t realize how expensive their employer health plan is because they don’t even know the amount of their employer’s contribution.

If they ever lose/leave their job and try to get COBRA the sticker shock is intense. At that point it’s almost always better to get a Marketplace plan if you can, because the subsidized price will be much lower, if not even the unsubsidized price.

The exclusion from income of health insurance premium payments is the largest tax break on the books;

“According to a Joint Committee on Taxation analysis for 2007, the average savings for tax filers with incomes less than $30,000 was about $1,650 compared to about $4,580 for those with incomes over $200,000.” [2]

But I don’t agree that it should be eliminated. By comparison, ACA subsidies are about $6,300 per person on average. [1]

If you look at the exclusion in isolation it looks regressive. If you plot it alongside the ACA subsidies, in fact it’s not, it acts to smooth out the hyper-progressive ACA subsidy drop off.

[1] - https://www.cbo.gov/system/files?file=2018-06/51298-2018-05-...

[2] - https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2015/04/14/the-worst-t...

What risk pools? They can generally only consider age and family structure. I'm mid 30s, married with a kid.

I'm not following why this is a subsidy per se. I can deduct health insurance premiums from my self employment after all.