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Health Insurance Coverage and Marriage Behavior: Is There Evidence of Marriage Lock?

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  • Tianxu Chen

    (University of Connecticut)

Abstract

Premiums and eligibility for health insurance may cause “marriage lock,” in which couples stay married for the sake of maintaining health insurance coverage. By using the Health and Retirement Study for adults aged 60–70, I examine whether employer-based spousal health insurance coverage discourages divorce. Diverse difference-in-difference models provide evidence of a 7 percentage points increase in the number of divorces upon achieving Medicare eligibility at age 65 for people with spousal insurance coverage relative to those without it. The estimates thus provide evidence that marriage lock exists.

Suggested Citation

  • Tianxu Chen, 2019. "Health Insurance Coverage and Marriage Behavior: Is There Evidence of Marriage Lock?," Working papers 2019-09, University of Connecticut, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:uct:uconnp:2019-09
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. David J. G. Slusky & Donna K. Ginther, 2021. "Did Medicaid expansion reduce medical divorce?," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 19(4), pages 1139-1174, December.
    2. Matt Hampton & Otto Lenhart, 2019. "The effect of the Affordable Care Act preexisting conditions provision on marriage," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(11), pages 1345-1355, November.
    3. J Matthew Hampton & Otto Lenhart, 2019. "'Til insurance do us part: the effect of the affordable care act preexisting conditions provision on marriage," Working Papers 1902, University of Strathclyde Business School, Department of Economics.
    4. Tianxu Chen, 2019. "Health Insurance and Marriage Behavior: Will Marriage Lock Hold Under Healthcare Reform?," Working papers 2019-10, University of Connecticut, Department of Economics.
    5. Clara E. Piano & Rachael Behr & Kacey Reeves West, 2024. "The supply and demand of marital contracts: the case of same-sex marriage," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 198(3), pages 237-268, March.
    6. Matt Hampton & Otto Lenhart, 2022. "The effect of the Affordable Care Act Medicaid expansion on marriage," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 60(2), pages 568-591, April.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Marriage Lock; Medicare; Employer-sponsored Health Insurance; Marriage Behavior;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J - Labor and Demographic Economics
    • I1 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health
    • D1 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior

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