Overview

Losing or leaving a job often means losing health insurance. Of all those who lose private insurance and become uninsured, one third have either left or lost a job in the recent past. Among those currently uninsured, almost 60 percent have left or lost a job in the past year. Those with long spells of unemployment are most likely to lack any form of health insurance.

Programs to help job losers and leavers get coverage are particularly important because job mobility is high in the United States. Around 20 percent of workers have held their jobs for less than one year. Workers constantly move from less- to more-satisfactory positions, raising both their welfare and the overall productivity of society. The fear of losing health insurance, however, leads many people to remain in less-productive jobs. This phenomenon, known as "job lock" probably accounts for a significant loss of productivity for the U.S. economy every year. Credible estimates suggest that job lock may reduce mobility in the U.S. labor force by as much as one-quarter. Transitional subsidies and loans that would enable job losers and leavers to buy health insurance might combat job lock in a cost-effective way, even if they only helped a small number of currently uninsured people.

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