Employment-Based Health Insurance and Job Mobility: Is There Evidence of Job-Lock?

47 Pages Posted: 7 Feb 2002 Last revised: 27 Mar 2022

See all articles by Brigitte C. Madrian

Brigitte C. Madrian

Brigham Young University Marriott School of Business; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Date Written: September 1993

Abstract

This paper assesses the impact of employer-provided health insurance on job mobility by exploring the extent to which workers are 'locked' into their jobs because preexisting conditions exclusions make it expensive for individuals with medical problems to relinquish their current health insurance. I estimate the degree of job-lock by comparing the difference in the turnover rates of those with high and low medical expenses for those with and without employer-provided health insurance. Using data from the 1987 National Medical Expenditure Survey, I estimate that job-lock reduces the voluntary turnover rate of those with employer-provided health insurance by 25 percent, from 16 percent to 12 percent per year.

Suggested Citation

Madrian, Brigitte C., Employment-Based Health Insurance and Job Mobility: Is There Evidence of Job-Lock? (September 1993). NBER Working Paper No. w4476, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=299806

Brigitte C. Madrian (Contact Author)

Brigham Young University Marriott School of Business ( email )

Provo, UT 84602
United States

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) ( email )

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

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