Job-Lock and Public Policy: Clinton's Second Mandate

Abstract

This study evaluates whether the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which was signed into law in 1996, succeeded in mitigating job-lock, defined as reduced mobility out of jobs that offer health insurance. An analysis that uses quarterly data from the 1996 Survey of Income and Program Participation and exploits state variation in regulatory environment prior to the federal legislation shows no evidence that HIPAA significantly reduced job-lock.