2 pages. Excerpt: 'Employer-sponsored health insurance is tax-free, but people who buy their own coverage receive no tax breaks. Policymakers should level the playing field by giving every form of health coverage the same tax treatment.' This initially appealing claim misses some key facts. Insurance companies will not sell to employers unless at least 75 percent of workers accept coverage offers. Currently, according to the Treasury Department, the unequal tax treatment of employer-sponsored insurance (ESI) and nongroup coverage 'can increase the after-tax cost of [nongroup] insurance … by as much as 50 percent.' If this inequality ended and many workers left ESI for nongroup coverage, some companies would no longer meet insurers' minimum participation requirements and would lose the ability to offer coverage.  MORE >>