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IT'S ABOUT TIME: EFFECTS OF THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT DEPENDENT COVERAGE MANDATE ON TIME USE
Author(s) -
Colman Gregory,
Dave Dhaval
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
contemporary economic policy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.454
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1465-7287
pISSN - 1074-3529
DOI - 10.1111/coep.12242
Subject(s) - mandate , duration (music) , time allocation , demographic economics , patient protection and affordable care act , emergency department , economics , health insurance , actuarial science , business , labour economics , medicine , health care , economic growth , nursing , political science , law , art , literature , management
We examine how the Affordable Care Act's dependent coverage mandate ( DCM ) affected young adults' time allocation. Exploiting more accurate measures from the American Time Use Surveys, we find that the DCM reduced labor supply. The question then arises, what have these adults done with the extra time? Estimates suggest a reduction in job‐lock, as well as in the duration of the average doctor's visit, including time spent waiting and receiving care. The latter effect is consistent with substitution from emergency‐department utilization toward more routine care. Estimates suggest that the extra time has gone into socializing, and into educational and job‐search activities. ( JEL I1, J2, H0)