The Impact of the Macroeconomy on Health Insurance Coverage: Evidence from the Great Recession

Abstract

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Does Employer-Provided Health Insurance Constrain Labor Supply Adjustments to Health Shocks? New Evidence on Women Diagnosed with Breast Cancer

“…There is a strong perception among with women dependent on their own employment for health insurance that they are working -or are working more -in order to maintain health insurance, which may explain worries related to insurance expressed by participants in qualitative studies of cancer survivorship (Schwartz et al 2009). Although few women stopped working during the study period, concerns regarding health insurance insecurity are probably well founded given the strong correlation between job loss and loss of health insurance coverage (Cawley et al 2011). …”

State‐Level Unemployment and the Utilization of Preventive Medical Services

“…Quinn, Catalano, and Felber () explain that persons who become unemployed may face barriers to obtaining preventive care, such as through the loss of health insurance. Cawley, Moriya, and Simon () report that a 1 percentage point increase in the state unemployment rate between 2004 and 2010 was associated with a 1.67 percentage point decrease in the likelihood that men had health insurance. Catalano, Satariano, and Ciemins () propose that individuals may be distracted from seeking routine medical or dental care during periods of economic stress due to limited energy available for activities that are not immediately pressing.…”

Does leaving school in an economic downturn impact access to employer-sponsored health insurance?

“…An important, related set of papers for the purposes of this study examines the influence of contemporaneous economic downturns on access to health insurance (Cawley et al 2013;Cawley and Simon 2005;Marquis and Long 2001). These studies suggest that during economic downturns, individuals -in particular men -lose access to health insurance, including employer-sponsored health insurance.…”

“…These studies suggest that during economic downturns, individuals -in particular men -lose access to health insurance, including employer-sponsored health insurance. For example, using data from the 2004 to 2010 Survey of Income and Program Participation Cawley et al (2013) find that a 1 percentage point increase in the state unemployment rate leads to a 1.67 percentage point (2.12%) reduction in the probability that men have any health insurance. The authors show that women's access to health insurance is not strongly correlated with the state unemployment rate.…”