A Shot in the Arm

Universal health insurance, far from suppressing entrepreneurship, could be a boon to it. The main reason for this is a phenomenon known as "job lock," a term coined during the last round of debate over universal health coverage in the early 1990s. Job lock refers to the fact that workers are often unwilling to leave a current job that provides health insurance for another position that might not, even if they would be more productive in that other ... Full Story »

Posted by Derek Hawkins
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Posted by: Posted by Derek Hawkins - Jul 6, 2009 - 9:34 AM PDT
Content Type: Article
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Edited by: Fabrice Florin - Jul 6, 2009 - 11:59 AM PDT
Derek Hawkins
4.1
by Derek Hawkins - Jul. 6, 2009

This is an original, well reasoned essay explaining how public health care could boost entrepreneurship, not stymie it as some critics have charged. Gruber covers possible financial drawbacks for businesses, while overall advocating universal care as beneficial on several fronts.

See Full Review » (11 answers)
Dwight Rousu
4.0
by Dwight Rousu - Jul. 6, 2009

Gruber provides an economist's look at universal health care, with a special focus on job lock and entrepreneurship. He reaches for facts and data rather than dogma and blather.

For some employees, it is not only the risk of loss of insurance, but the surety of loss of insurance. Parents of a special care retarded child are an example. Gruber focuses on entrepreneurship, but omits the personal health and happiness that would attend leaving a hated job for a more palatable job.

See Full Review » (13 answers)
Joey Baker
3.9
by Joey Baker - Jul. 6, 2009

Good look at the health care problem from the view point of an entrepreneur.

Well worth a read!

Americans who have an alternative source of health insurance, such as a spouse’s coverage, are much more likely to be self-employed than those who don’t. More »

See Full Review » (13 answers)
Kaizar Campwala
3.9
by Kaizar Campwala - Jul. 6, 2009

I really liked this piece. It takes an interesting angle on the economic impact of Health Care reform. But rather than blindly falling in love with the idea of job lock, Gruber discusses it in an even-handed way. Highly recommended.

See Full Review » (11 answers)
Kristin Gorski
4.2
by Kristin Gorski - Jul. 6, 2009

The crucial points that Gruber makes about the effects of "job lock" are getting almost no attention in mainstream media coverage of health care reform; this topic should be much more widely reported on.

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Norman Rogers
1.9
by Norman Rogers - Jul. 7, 2009

As an entrepreneur I had no problem with "job lock." Totally unsupported assumptions. What about the effect of higher taxes having the opposite effect?

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Floss Shahbegian
4.3
by Floss Shahbegian - Jul. 6, 2009

This article was well written, informative and enlightening. I would recommend it, it is excellent.

It certainly does away with a lot of myths about Health Care Reform. The Job Lock and the ability to encourage entrepreneurship is enlightening. One of the few articles that gives a concise & fair assessment of health insurance.

See Full Review » (7 answers)

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