The authors study a policy of limited insurance portability that has been adopted by a number of states and the federal government over the past 20 years. They find that these “continuation of coverage” mandates, which grant individuals the right to continue purchasing health insurance through their former employers for a specified period after leaving their jobs, are associated with a significant increase in the job mobility of prime age male workers. This finding suggests that “job-lock”—lack of mobility out of Jobs that offer health insurance—arises in large part from short-run concerns over portability rather than from long-run problems.
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