Limited Insurance Portability and Job Mobility: The Effects of Public Policy on Job-Lock / Jonathan Gruber, Brigitte C. Madrian.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Gruber, Jonathan.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Madrian, Brigitte C.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w4479.

NBER working paper series no. w4479

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Other Title:

Limited Insurance Portability and Job Mobility

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 1993.

Summary:

The link between health insurance and the workplace in the U.S. has led to concern over the possibility of insurance-induced reductions in job mobility or 'job-lock". Designing health insurance reforms which retain employer-based insurance coverage but mitigate the extent of job-lock requires an understanding of the policy dimensions to which job-lock is most receptive. We study a policy of limited insurance portability which has been adopted by a number of states and the federal government over the last 20 years. These "continuation of coverage' mandates grant individuals the right to continue purchasing health insurance through their former employers for some period of time after leaving their jobs. We find that the passage of these mandates caused a significant increase in the job mobility of prime age male workers. This suggests that a sizeable share of job-lock arises from short run concerns over portability rather than from long run problems.

Notes:

Print version record

September 1993.