Will ObamaCare-induced early retirement make us healthier?

This leaves a population of workers who are under 65 and who are not disabled, yet who would prefer to retire before they are eligible for Medicare. This population is large and diverse, and many of its members presumably have good reasons for wanting to retire, including caring for loved ones and pursing life goals that can only be pursued outside of the paid workforce. But it is important to keep in mind that one of the goals of subsidizing medical insurance is to help keep people healthy, and there is some evidence to suggest that early retirement is not actually good for one’s health. Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health have found that retirement are 40 percent more likely to have had a stroke or heart attack than older Americans who continue to work. This makes intuitive sense, as retirement by definition means a break with old routines and old relationships that might contribute to various aspects of well-being. And there is some evidence that social isolation raises the risk of early death. It is easy to see why Carney and the Obama administration have touted the benefits of early retirement. Doing so is politically popular. Yet one of the ironies of policy measures that make early retirement more likely is that they might actually make older Americans sicker, thus exacerbating health costs, not to mention the pain and suffering that is often a part of aging. Moreover, there is considerable evidence that there is a positive association between unemployment and mortality for the non-elderly as well.

So it could be that the best way for us to improve the health and well-being of Americans is to pursue policies that raise rather than lower labor force participation.