The recent letter “Subsidy fight” by Chris Boyd suggests Democrats may benefit politically if Republicans refuse to continue subsidies under the Affordable Care Act, because some people who buy insurance on the exchanges might be forced to drop their coverage. What the letter did not mention is that ACA subsidies are not the only subsidies in our health care system — they are simply the most visible. People with employer-provided insurance already receive one of the largest federal tax subsidies in the tax code. Employer-paid health insurance is not taxed as income, meaning employees pay no payroll tax on it, and employers can deduct the premiums they pay as a business expense. This combination costs the federal government hundreds of billions of dollars every year. In other words, taxpayers already subsidize employer‑based coverage — the subsidy simply takes the form of tax breaks rather than direct payments.…