Working Paper: NBER ID: w19884
Authors: Jessamyn Schaller; Ann Huff Stevens
Abstract: Job loss in the United States is associated with long-term reductions in income and long-term increases in mortality rates. This paper examines the short- to medium-term changes in health, health care access, and health care utilization after job loss that lead to these long-term effects. Using a sample with more than 9800 individual job losses and longitudinal data on a wide variety of health-related measures and outcomes, we show that job loss results in worse self-reported health, including mental health, but is not associated with statistically significant increases in a variety of specific chronic conditions. Among the full sample of workers, we see reductions in insurance coverage, but little evidence of reductions in health care utilization after job loss. Among the subset of displaced workers for whom the lost job was their primary source of insurance we do see reductions in doctor's visits and prescription drug usage. These results suggest that access to health insurance and care may be an important part of the health effects of job loss for some workers. The pattern of results is also consistent with a significant role for stress in generating long-term health consequences after job loss.
Keywords: job loss; health; health insurance; health care utilization
JEL Codes: I1; J63
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| job loss (J63) | self-reported health (I10) |
| job loss (J63) | mental health issues (I12) |
| job loss (J63) | depression or anxiety (D91) |
| job loss (J63) | health insurance coverage (I13) |
| job loss (J63) | non-insurance (G22) |
| loss of insurance (G52) | healthcare access (I14) |