Health insurance coverage and marriage behavior: Is there evidence of marriage lock?
Premiums and eligibility for health insurance may cause a “marriage lock,” in which couples stay married for the sake of maintaining health insurance coverage. By using the Health and Retirement Study for adults aged 60–70, I examine whether employer‐based health insurance coverage for the spouse di...
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Published in | International studies of economics Vol. 18; no. 2; pp. 136 - 158 |
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Main Author | |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
College Station
John Wiley & Sons, Inc
01.06.2023
Wiley |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Premiums and eligibility for health insurance may cause a “marriage lock,” in which couples stay married for the sake of maintaining health insurance coverage. By using the Health and Retirement Study for adults aged 60–70, I examine whether employer‐based health insurance coverage for the spouse discourages divorce for spousal health insurance coverage‐dependent individuals. Diverse difference‐in‐difference models provide evidence of a 7 percentage points increase in the number of divorces upon achieving Medicare eligibility at age 65 for people with spousal insurance coverage relative to those without it. The estimates thus provide evidence that marriage lock exists. |
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ISSN: | 2831-3224 2831-3224 |
DOI: | 10.1002/ise3.45 |