Does Government Health Insurance Reduce Job Lock and Job Push?

Barkowski, Scott (2015): Does Government Health Insurance Reduce Job Lock and Job Push?

Abstract

I study job lock and job push, the twin phenomena believed to be caused by employment-contingent health insurance (ECHI). Using variation in Medicaid eligibility among household members of male workers as a proxy for shifts in workers’ dependence on employment for health insurance, I estimate large job lock and job push effects. For married workers, Medicaid eligibility for one household member results in an increase in the likelihood of a voluntary job exit over a four-month period by approximately 34%. For job push, the transition rate into jobs with ECHI among all workers falls on average by 26%.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Job Lock; Job Push; Medicaid; Job Mobility
• Subjects: I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I1 - Health > I13 - Health Insurance, Public and Private; J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J6 - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers

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