Recent Evidence on the ACA and Employment
Research
Feb-01-2017 |
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1-min read
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has had little to no adverse effects on employment through 2016.
The Issue
The ACA contains several provisions that could impact jobs, including: the employer mandate, the expansion of Medicaid benefits to low-income adults, and the provision of tax credit subsidies to individuals enrolling in the health insurance marketplaces.
Key Findings
- In 2016, actual and expected employment rates were both 71.8 percent, indicating no ACA-associated effect on overall employment, based on the Census Bureau’s monthly Current Population Survey from January 2000 through December 2016.
- Despite a downtrend in part-time work since 2013, part-time work did not fall as much as expected, with the 2016 part-time employment rate 6 percent higher than expected, based on pre-ACA patterns.
Conclusion
Based on an analysis of employment, number of hours worked per week among workers, and part-time employment, researchers find that the Affordable Care Act has had little to no adverse effects on employment through 2016, while increasing health insurance coverage for 20 million Americans.