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State minimum wages and health insurance coverage in the United States: 2008–2018

Author

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  • Masanori Kuroki

    (Arkansas Tech University)

Abstract

This study examines the effect of minimum wage hikes on the shares of uninsured people during the period 2008–2018. Despite some concern that higher minimum wages would lead to higher uninsured rates by (1) reducing employment, (2) inducing employers to stop offering health insurance to their employees, and (3) making minimum wage workers ineligible for Medicaid by increasing their earnings, the findings indicate that the uninsured rate tends to decrease with higher minimum wages, suggesting that minimum wage hikes might encourage minimum-wage workers to obtain health insurance. The effects appear to come from minimum wage hikes that occurred after the Affordable Care Act (ACA) took effect in 2014, suggesting that higher minimum wages combined with federal subsidies for the ACA marketplace and the individual mandate might have contributed to a reduction in the uninsured rate. However, Medicaid expansions seem to mitigate the effect of the minimum wage on the uninsured rate among low-income households.

Suggested Citation

  • Masanori Kuroki, 2022. "State minimum wages and health insurance coverage in the United States: 2008–2018," International Journal of Health Economics and Management, Springer, vol. 22(2), pages 163-180, June.
  • Handle: RePEc:kap:ijhcfe:v:22:y:2022:i:2:d:10.1007_s10754-021-09313-6
    DOI: 10.1007/s10754-021-09313-6
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. David H. Autor & Alan Manning & Christopher L. Smith, 2016. "The Contribution of the Minimum Wage to US Wage Inequality over Three Decades: A Reassessment," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 8(1), pages 58-99, January.
    2. Kosali Ilayperuma Simon & Robert Kaestner, 2004. "Do Minimum Wages Affect Non-Wage Job Attributes? Evidence on Fringe Benefits," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 58(1), pages 52-70, October.
    3. Schmidheiny, Kurt & Siegloch, Sebastian, 2019. "On Event Study Designs and Distributed-Lag Models: Equivalence, Generalization and Practical Implications," IZA Discussion Papers 12079, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Kurt Schmidheiny & Sebastian Siegloch, 2023. "On event studies and distributed‐lags in two‐way fixed effects models: Identification, equivalence, and generalization," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 38(5), pages 695-713, August.
    5. Armin Falk & Ernst Fehr & Christian Zehnder, 2006. "Fairness Perceptions and Reservation Wages—the Behavioral Effects of Minimum Wage Laws," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 121(4), pages 1347-1381.
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    Cited by:

    1. David Neumark, 2023. "The Effects of Minimum Wages on (Almost) Everything? A Review of Recent Evidence on Health and Related Behaviors," NBER Working Papers 31191, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Minimum wage; Health insurance; Health care;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G52 - Financial Economics - - Household Finance - - - Insurance
    • I13 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Insurance, Public and Private
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials

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