Disability

V. Key Health Policy Issues >> A. Burden of Illness >> Disability (last updated: 12.19.15)

Topic Outline

1 Current Policy
2 Resources
- 2.1 Characteristics
- 2.2 Geographic Distribution
3 Resources

Current Policy

Laws and Regulations (Disability.gov).
Social Security Disability Insurance. SSDI was created in 1957 to provide a financial assistance to workers who became injured or ill.It currently has about 10 million enrollees. Lifetime SSDI expenditures average $300,000 per person.
Supplemental Security Income. SSI provides income assistance to elderly and disabled individuals with low incomes.

Resources

Characteristics

SSI Monthly Statistics includes national statistics on recipients by type of payment (federal and state supplementation), recipients by eligibility category and age, total payments by eligibility category and age. No state breakdowns provided. There is roughly a 1 month lag time in reporting.
Bureau of Justice Statistics (December 2015). Disabilities Among Prison And Jail Inmates, 2011–12. Presents the prevalence of disabilities among prison and jail inmates, detailing the prevalence of six specific disability types: hearing, vision, cognitive, ambulatory, self-care, and independent living. Important differences in each type of disability are highlighted by demographic characteristics. The report also assesses the prevalence of disabilities with other health problems, such as a current chronic condition, obesity, ever having an infectious disease, and past 30-day serious psychological distress. Findings are based on prison and jail inmate self-reported data from BJS’s 2011–12 National Inmate Survey (NIS-3). Data from the 2012 American Community Survey (ACS) and 2009–2012 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) were used to compare the incarcerated populations to the noninstitutionalized general population.
- An estimated 32% of prisoners and 40% of jail inmates reported having at least one disability.
- Prisoners were nearly 3 times more likely and jail inmates were more than 4 times more likely than the general population to report having at least one disability.
- About 2 in 10 prisoners and 3 in 10 jail inmates reported having a cognitive disability, the most common reported disability in each population .

Geographic Distribution

SSDI Recipients.
- OASDI Beneficiaries by State and County, 2012 (released July 2013). Issued annually, available on-line back to 1999.
- OASDI Beneficiaries by State and ZIP Code, 2010 (released September 2011). Issued annually, available on-line back to 2003.
SSI Recipients.
- SSI Recipients by State and County is an annual compilation (released in October) of the number of SSI recipients as of December of the preceding year and the dollar amount of federal payments made to them. The report also includes information on state supplementation payments made to such recipients (such monthly payments, unlike the standardized federal payments, vary by state) (2014 is latest available).
- SSI Annual Statistical Report is an annual compilation of information on SSI recipients and characteristics, with state-level breakdowns of recipients and payments (2014 is latest available).