The need for health care directly drives military recruiting

Effects of Health Insurance and Medical Care Inflation on Voluntary Enlistment in the Army: An Empirical Study in the United States

Cebula, Richard J. International Journal of Management; Poole28.1 (Mar 2011): 349-362,395.

Finally, there are the findings for the two key health care variables. First, the estimated coefficient on the variable AAUNINS is positive and statistically significant at the one percent level, implying that the greater the percentage of the civilian population without health insurance, the greater the propensity for eligible young men and women to enlist in the U.S. Army. Thus, this result provides strong empirical support for the "Army Health Care Magnet Hypothesis." Second, the estimated coefficient on the AMCI variable is positive and statistically significant at beyond the 2.5 percent level. Thus, there is strong empirical evidence for the hypothesis introduced in this study that the higher the medical care inflation rate, the greater the incentive to enlist in the U.S. Army and hence the greater the actual U.S. Army enlistment rate.