Based on research recently published in the National Bureau of Economic Research, once the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act goes into motion, many people who are getting employee benefits from their workplace may quit their jobs.
According to experts from the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business, along with contributions from experts from Columbia University and Northwestern, as many as 1 million workers may ultimately decide to leave their professions once the state exchanges open, as they will be able to buy coverage from outlets other than their workplace at a similar price.
Researchers based their conclusions on what happened in Tennessee in 1994. At that time, state lawmakers made a health plan available for people who didn't have the income required to buy a plan from a private insurer, but at the same time made too much money to apply for Medicaid. However, due to state cutbacks, legislators had to cut the program 11 years after it launched, the study indicates.
This caused many people who lost health insurance to seek it, mainly by applying for positions with companies that made coverage available. Approximately 50 percent of the 170,000 people who lost coverage got it back once they were hired.
"This shows that there are many people out there who look for work simply because they need health insurance," said the report's co-author Tal Gross, assistant professor of Health Policy and Management at the Mailman School at Columbia.
Starting on October 1, state health insurance marketplaces are scheduled to open so consumers can enroll. However, there is some question as to whether they'll be ready in time. Additionally 27 states have refused to set them up.
