It’s sad that the right-wing media has poisoned The New York Times in the mind of the Republican voter. Because as this article points out, that awful, evil “Obamacare” those folks voted to destroy by flipping that “R” lever in the voting booth may have provided them the only way out of working for the rest of their lives. By offering a way to get affordable medical care—past age 55 or so—for themselves, their spouses, and their kids, the Affordable Care Act provided millions with something priceless—the ability to retire early:

Americans reaching 65 become eligible for Medicare. Before reaching that age, some can get retiree coverage from their former employers. But not very many companies, especially small ones, offer medical insurance to retirees. If early retirees are poor enough, they could turn to Medicaid. To retire early, everybody else would need to turn to the individual health insurance market. Without the subsidies and protections the A.C.A. put in place, health care coverage would be more difficult to obtain, cost consumers more where available, and provide fewer benefits than it does today. That means that if the A.C.A. is repealed, retiring early would become less feasible for many Americans.

Good luck finding a company that offers medical insurance to retirees. Only 24 percent of large firms do anymore, down from 40 percent in 1999. That’s because corporate America has gradually ditched any sense of ongoing responsibility to its employees. Pensions with health care coverage are a thing of the past. You lose or quit your job in your 50s—when health problems (and “pre-existing conditions”) start to mount for most people—and you’re basically on your own. You either keep working or you put yourself at risk for medical bankruptcy:

This consequence is called job lock—the need to maintain a job to get health insurance. One of the arguments in favor of the A.C.A. was that it would reduce or eliminate job lock. With repeal of the law on the agenda of Congress and President Trump, there is renewed concern about how health insurance could affect employment and retirement decisions.

Most high-quality studies during the pre-Obamacare era, as well as the Government Accountability Office, documented the phenomenon of “job lock,” in which people feel compelled to keep working against their desires because of the need to maintain their health insurance, either for themselves or their families. One study found that nearly 70 percent more people will take early retirement if medical insurance is offered. And those in poor health are even more likely to do so. There are also studies documenting how many people with cancer have to keep working just to keep their coverage, and plenty of studies that show how many people would switch jobs, work for themselves, or simply retire if they weren’t tied to the lure of employer-based health insurance.

The Affordable Care Act gave Americans that opportunity. Whether it would have actually prompted more people to retire early or switch jobs is unknown. The Times article notes that the existing data is incomplete and has been likely skewed by two factors, the relative “newness” of the law and the uncertainty about its future created by constant Republican attacks on it over the entire term of President Obama’s Presidency.

One reason studies might not have found an impact on job lock could be because the law is relatively new, and there isn’t enough data available to researchers to tease out all its effects. It could also be because the law has been under siege on multiple fronts since passage, rendering its status uncertain. This may have raised doubts in workers’ minds about the wisdom of relying on it as a substitute for employer-offered coverage.

Some chest thumping right-wingers may point out that the law increased some taxes on the very wealthy, and those poor Billionaires shouldn’t have to “subsidize” others’ early retirements. And those Billionaires and their Republican Representatives in the U.S. Congress would agree with you. Of course, people in those economic strata never have to worry about health care coverage, and the very thought of working for the rest of their lives prompts them to reach for the air sickness bags in their private jets. But that’s essentially what rank- and- file Republicans were voting for, whether they knew it or not---they traded the possibility of early retirement to instead protect the trust-funds of kids of people like Donald Trump.

So when you see that frail man or woman in her 60’s, behind the cash register at the convenience store, or working the floor at the Walmart, or sorting clothes at the Target, don’t forget that there was once a law that would have allowed such people to retire with dignity.

And the Republicans killed it.