Effects of Health Insurance and Medical Care Inflation on Voluntary Enlistment in the Army: An Empirical Study in the United States

This study empirically investigates determinants of enlistment in the U.S. Army over the period 1974 through 2008. The emphasis is on the impacts of both the availability of free medical care and the challenges of addressing higher medical care inflation. The study estimates reveal that the higher the percentage of the general population without healthcare insurance, the greater the incentive to enlist in the U.S. Army. In addition, the estimates reveal that the greater the degree of medical care inflation, the greater the rate of U.S. Army enlistment.