The effect of the Affordable Care Act Medicaid expansion on marriage

This paper investigates the impact of the Affordable Care Act Medicaid expansions on marital behavior. We use data from the American Community Survey from 2008 to 2019 and estimate difference-in-differences models to test for effects on marriage and divorce outcomes. We find that expansions led to a 0.95% reduction in marriage stock and a 2.22% increase in divorce stock, with effects being larger among low educated individuals. We believe that two factors play a role as underlying mechanisms: (1) reduced reliance on spousal insurance coverage and (2) deciding to forego marriage or get divorced to meet eligibility restrictions.

Automated summary

The study found that the Affordable Care Act Medicaid expansions led to a decrease in marriage stock and an increase in divorce stock, especially among low educated individuals. Two underlying mechanisms identified were reduced reliance on spousal insurance coverage and decisions to forego marriage or divorce to meet eligibility restrictions.