Title: Spillover Effects of the ACA Dependent Coverage Mandate: Job lock Among Parents of Young Adult Children

Speaker: Assistant Professor Liu Tian (Shanghai University of Finance and Economics)

Time: December 14th, 2016 15:00–16:15 

Venue: Conference Room 106B, Zhonghui Building (College of Economics, JNU) 

Abstract:

As the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has fully phased in, it is greatly reshaping health insurance market in the US. Among many other effects, the ACA is widely believed to mitigate job lock. However, job lock maybe reinforced for certain subgroups under some ACA provisions; for example, the 2010 dependent coverage mandate. The mandate, aims to insure young adult children through parents’ health insurance, could reduce job mobility of parents with eligible children. A significant mandate-induced job lock indicates the cost to insure young adults through dependent coverage mandate would be higher than expected. In addition to highlighting one of the possible negative consequences of the ACA, the study also contributes to job lock literature by providing evidence of job immobility when health insurance and employment are closely attached, rather than detached.