Abstract
Many health insurance programs contain certain portability constraints. It is common that enrollees are eligible for greater reimbursement when they received services at selected local facilities. We investigate the impact of this portability constraint on residents' choice of job location. Using a unique, nationwide survey data set in China, we find that provision of health insurance decreases the probability of working in non-local regions for the rural residents by 2.4%. The results are mainly driven by the residence lock-in effect. That is, the insurance program discourages rural residents from working outside their registered areas of residence and, especially, in other provinces. The pullback effect, that is, the effect of the health insurance program attracting migrant workers who had worked outside back to regions close to their hometowns, is not found to be significant.
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