Who pays the high health costs of older workers? Evidence from prostate cancer screening mandates

C-Tier
Journal: Applied Economics
Year: 2014
Volume: 46
Issue: 32
Pages: 3931-3941

Score contribution per author:

1.005 = (α=2.01 / 1 authors) × 0.5x C-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

Between 1992 and 2009, 30 US states adopted laws mandating that health insurance plans cover screenings for prostate cancer. Because prostate cancer screenings are used almost exclusively by men over age 50, these mandates raise the cost of insuring older men relative to other groups. This article uses a triple-difference empirical strategy to take advantage of this quasi-random natural experiment in raising the cost of employing older workers. Using Integrated Public Use Microdata Series data from the March Supplement of the Current Population Survey, I find that the increased cost of insuring older workers results in their receiving 2.8% lower hourly wages, being 2% less likely to be employed and being 0.7% less likely to have employer-sponsored health insurance.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:taf:applec:v:46:y:2014:i:32:p:3931-3941
Journal Field
General
Author Count
1
Added to Database
2026-01-24