Effects of the 2010 Affordable Care Act Dependent Care Provision on Military Participation Among Young Adults

The ACA dependent care provision mandated that private health insurance plans that offer dependent coverage must allow young adults to stay on parents’ insurance until age 26. In addition to the health and labor market-related outcomes that have been studied, the ACA dependent care provision also may have affected young adults’ decisions about whether or not to serve in the military and the type of military service chosen. In this paper, we use data from the 2008–2016 American Community Survey to test whether the ACA dependent care provision is associated with participating in the military, being on active duty, participating in the National Reserves, and having military health insurance. Findings indicate that the provision is associated reductions in the probability that young adults (mainly men) are serving on active duty and are sponsors on TRICARE health insurance plans. The results also show a corresponding increase in participation in the National Guard/Reserves.