Cover: The Effect of the Minimum Wage on Employer-Sponsored Insurance for Low-Income Workers and Dependents

The Effect of the Minimum Wage on Employer-Sponsored Insurance for Low-Income Workers and Dependents

Published in: American Journal of Health Economics (2021). doi: 10.1086/716198

Posted on RAND.org on July 28, 2021

by Michael Dworsky, Christine Eibner, Xiaoyu Nie, Jeffrey B. Wenger

This study found robust evidence that minimum wage increases lead to reductions in employer-sponsored insurance (ESI) coverage in families below 300% of the federal poverty level, with a nominal $1 increase in the minimum wage reducing the probability of ESI coverage by 1 percentage point. Reductions in coverage were also observed both for workers and for their dependents.

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