Workers are increasingly shackled to their jobs for the fear of losing their health care coverage. Economists and academics have given this phenomenon a name, “job lock.” Studies say job lock could reduce job mobility by as much as 25%.

Kelly Services chief executive Carl T. Camden has joined forces with a growing group of CEOs including Starbucks’ Howard Schultz to press Washington to take action on providing universal health care coverage.

The 1986 Consolidated Omnibus Reconciliation Act (COBRA) was supposed to address concerns that employees had about losing their health care coverage. The program requires companies to provide unsubsidized health care coverage to employees for the first 18 months after they leave a company. But COBRA policies for a family of four start at $700 a month, a steep price that only 7% of people who lose their jobs say they can afford. Health insurers are also getting stricter about accepting people with preexisting medical conditions.

Meanwhile, the effects of rising healthcare costs are dramatic. Medical-related bankruptcies have jumped 2,200% since 1981, with the middle class accounting for 90% of those. In surveys, the primary reason many people are afraid to go it alone in business is they are afraid of losing their health care.

One-third of American jobs provide no insurance at all and that number is growing. Many Americans with low-paying jobs can’t afford their employer’s plans. Some with preexisting conditions find themselves losing out on job offers. So, many workers continue to hold on to jobs they hate, with an unknown cost to the economy.