Projections that the ACA would be a "job killer" are debunked in a new paper by researchers at Stanford University.
Previously, Congressional Budget Office projected the ACA would result in a 1.5 to 2 percent decrease in the labor force, or 2 to 2.5 million individuals, by 2024. This year, Stanford researchers set out to estimate how the ACA affected health insurance coverage and jobs in the first two years after the ACA's main provisions went into effect.
The study found the percentage of Americans with healthcare increased since 2013, largely due to the current health law. Increases were especially large in areas where the potential Medicaid and exchange enrollments were higher. Furthermore, "labor market outcomes in the aggregate were not significantly affected," and job losses in areas with higher potential exchange enrollment "were offset by increases in labor force participation in areas with higher potential Medicaid enrollment," according to the study.
"Our findings indicate that the average labor supply effects of the ACA were close to zero but that this average masks important heterogeneity in its effects," researchers wrote.
They added, "More specifically, we find that in areas with a high share uninsured and eligible for private insurance subsidies, labor force participation fell significantly. In contrast, in areas with a high share uninsured but with incomes too low to qualify for private insurance subsidies, labor force participation increased significantly. These changes suggest that middle-income individuals reduced their labor supply due to the additional tax on earnings while lower income individuals worked more in order to qualify for private insurance. In the aggregate, these countervailing effects approximately balance."
Read the full study here.
More articles on human capital and risk:
Nomad Health nurse staffing tool takes cue from online dating sites
Mayo Clinic nurses in Albert Lea, Austin reach labor deal
NewYork-Presbyterian sees backlash over ties to furniture company