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[Job] Locked and [Un]loaded: The Effect of the Affordable Care Act Dependency Mandate on Reenlistment in the U.S. Army

Author

Listed:
  • Michael S. Kofoed

    (United States Military Academy)

  • Wyatt J. Frasier

    (United States Army)

Abstract

One concern with employer-based health insurance is job lock or the inability for employees to leave their current employment for better opportunities for fear of losing benefits. We use the implementation of the Affordable Care Act’s dependency mandate as a natural experiment. Data from the United States Army overcome some limitations in previous studies including the ability to examine workers with fixed contract expiration dates, uniform pay, and health coverage. We find that the ACA decreased reenlistment rates by 3.13 percent for enlisted soldiers aged 23–25. We also find that younger veterans who leave the army are more likely to attend college. These findings show that the ACA reduced job lock and increased college-going.

Suggested Citation

  • Michael S. Kofoed & Wyatt J. Frasier, 2019. "[Job] Locked and [Un]loaded: The Effect of the Affordable Care Act Dependency Mandate on Reenlistment in the U.S. Army," Upjohn Working Papers 19-300, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.
    • Handle: RePEc:upj:weupjo:19-300
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Jun Yeong Lee & John V. Winters, 2022. "State Medicaid Expansion and the Self-Employed," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 59(3), pages 925-954, October.
    3. Miller, Ray & Sedai, Ashish Kumar, 2022. "Opportunity costs of unpaid caregiving: Evidence from panel time diaries," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 22(C).
    4. Maclean, Johanna Catherine & Webber, Douglas, 2022. "Government regulation and wages: Evidence from continuing coverage mandates," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    5. Maclean, J. Catherine & Webber, Douglas A., 2019. "Government Regulation and Lifecycle Wages: Evidence from Continuing Coverage Mandates," IZA Discussion Papers 12464, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Aslim, Erkmen Giray, 2022. "Public health insurance and employment transitions," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Affordable Care Act; Job Lock; Military Enlistment; GI Bill;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I13 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Insurance, Public and Private
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • H56 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - National Security and War

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