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Dependent Health Insurance Laws and College Enrollment: Is There Evidence of College Lock?

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  • David Yaskewich

Abstract

For many years, the tax code gave an incentive for employers to offer dependent coverage for full-time students up to the age of 24. Recently, a provision in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 mandated that the definition of a dependent include young adults up to age 26, regardless of student status. Many states have passed similar mandates. The newly-acquired dependent status of non-students may encourage some young adults to avoid college. I compared a state that made the largest changes to its definition of a dependent (New Jersey) to a neighboring state that made no change (Pennsylvania). This study estimated that New Jersey’s law reduced college enrollment by 15–24 % in New Jersey relative to Pennsylvania. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media New York 2015

Suggested Citation

  • David Yaskewich, 2015. "Dependent Health Insurance Laws and College Enrollment: Is There Evidence of College Lock?," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 36(4), pages 557-569, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:kap:jfamec:v:36:y:2015:i:4:p:557-569
    DOI: 10.1007/s10834-014-9414-3
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    Cited by:

    1. Li, Yajuan & Palma, Marco A., 2017. "Health Insurance and College Enrollment: Evidence from a Natural Experiment of the Affordable Care Act Dependent Coverage Mandate," 2017 Annual Meeting, July 30-August 1, Chicago, Illinois 258490, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    2. Anoshua Chaudhuri, 2021. "Health Research in JFEI Over a Decade: 2009–2019," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 42(1), pages 142-153, July.
    3. repec:mrr:papers:wp341 is not listed on IDEAS

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