The Effects of the Affordable Care Act’s Insurance Subsidies on a Commercial Fishing Fleet Marine Resource Economics

We investigate the impact of health insurance subsidies on a US commercial fishing fleet. Prior to the passage of the Affordable Care Act, members of North Carolina’s fleet showed different preferences for the private purchase of health insurance, with higher-income and offshore-active commercial fishermen disproportionately likely to have health insurance and pay private insurance premiums. We find that the act has largely eliminated that disparity. Lower-income and inshore commercial fishermen are now largely caught up to the rest of the fleet in terms of insurance coverage. We propose that the act’s subsidies for insurance premiums are the cause of these changes.