Social security and mortality: The role of income support policies and population health in the United States

Social Security is the most important and effective income support program ever introduced in the United States, alleviating the burden of poverty for millions of elderly Americans. We explored the possible role of Social Security in reducing mortality among the elderly. In support of this hypothesi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of public health policy Vol. 32; no. 2; pp. 234 - 250
Main Authors Arno, Peter S., House, James S., Viola, Deborah, Schechter, Clyde
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published London Palgrave Macmillan 01.05.2011
Palgrave Macmillan UK
Subjects
Age groups
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
American people
Antibiotics
Benefits
Cause of Death
Elderly people
Equality and Human Rights
Family income
Health inequalities
Health Policy
Health sciences
Health security
Humans
Income
Income - statistics & numerical data
Income support
Infectious diseases
Legislation
Medical Sociology
Medical technology
Middle Aged
Mortality
Mortality - trends
Old age
Older adults
Older people
Original Article
Payroll taxes
Poverty
Public Health
Publishing industry
Retirement
Social insurance
Social Justice
Social Policy
Social Sciences
Social security
Social Security - economics
Social Security benefits
Socioeconomic factors
Socioeconomics
Sociology
Studies
United States
United States Social Security Administration - statistics & numerical data
United States
United States > US
social epidemiology
health policy
income support
Social Security
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Summary:Social Security is the most important and effective income support program ever introduced in the United States, alleviating the burden of poverty for millions of elderly Americans. We explored the possible role of Social Security in reducing mortality among the elderly. In support of this hypothesis, we found that declines in mortality among the elderly exceeded those among younger age groups following the initial implementation of Social Security in 1940, and also in the periods following marked improvements in Social Security benefits via legislation and indexing of benefits that occurred between the mid-1960s and the early 1970s. A better understanding of the link between Social Security and health status among the elderly would add a significant and missing dimension to the public discourse over the future of Social Security, and the potential role of income support programs in reducing health-related socioeconomic disparities and improving population health.
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James S. House, PhD, is a Senior Research Scientist, Professor of Sociology and Research Professor, Survey Research Center, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.
Clyde B. Schechter, MD, is an Associate Professor, Department of Family and Social Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY.
Peter S. Arno, PhD, is a Professor, Director of Doctoral Studies, Department of Health Policy and Management, School of Health Sciences and Practice, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY.
Deborah Viola, PhD, is an Associate Professor, and Associate Director of Doctoral Studies, Department of Health Policy and Management, School of Health Sciences and Practice, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY.
ISSN:0197-5897
1745-655X
DOI:10.1057/jphp.2011.2