The Effect of Health Insurance Coverage Mandates on the Education of Young Adults : Evidence from the ACA

This paper examines the interaction of state and federal dependent health coverage mandates on young adult educational enrollment using data from the October Supplement of the Current Population Survey, and a Differences-in-Differences style model model. State mandates preceding the Affordable Care (ACA) required school enrollment, while the ACA did not. Those eligible for state laws with student requirements were 2.4 percentage points more likely to enroll in college, and were more likely to enroll full time and in four degree programs. After the ACA was enacted, those previously eligible for state mandates lost the incentive to go to school, while those ineligible could now pursue higher education as opposed to working for group coverage. As a result, the ACA lead to a 6.6 percent point decline in the college enrollment gap driven by full time and four year degree program enrollment among those previously ineligible for dependent coverage via state mandates with education requirements. These results show that dependent coverage leads to higher education enrollment by serving as a tuition subsidy