> Do you think that companies would give you a raise equivalent to what they were paying on your behalf for healthcare? I suspect not.

Its anecdotal, but my company and the company my mom works for, both already do this if you choose to opt out of the employer plan. Total compensation is not a foreign concept to most businesses.

Sure. But how many people know how much their employer is paying on their behalf, and could use that to effectively have the same earning power? I know I had no idea until the Affordable Care Act put it on my tax documents.

That depends on the details. I'm sure to have missed a many important details below (I doubt anyone even knows them all).

For an instant raise to happen: companies must not only lose their tax deductions on what they contribute to insurance, they also need to count that contribution to employee's wages even if the employee doesn't take it. As soon as young childless employees realize that they are paying taxes on what amounts to the insurance payments to their co-worker who has a lot of kids they will demand they get the cash.

If you add a payroll tax equal to the average cost of insurance, then it’s neutral for employers as a group.

The payroll tax could be used either to fund a single payer system or to fund deductions for employees helping them buy insurance.

Well, for one thing, the employers get to use pre tax money (up to a limit) for their spending while individuals have to use post tax money, so it would be at least 30% less.

that's a fair point, but which is easier for an employee to compare, wages between two companies or job offers when they buy their own insurance and know the cost, or to compare wages AND benefits of two different jobs/offers