This paper exploits the effectively random assignment of judges to Disability Insurance cases to estimate the causal impact of Disability Insurance receipt on labor supply. We find that benefit ...receipt reduces labor force participation by 26 percentage points three years after a disability determination decision, although the reduction is smaller for older people, college graduates, and those with mental illness. OLS and instrumental variables estimates are similar. Furthermore, over 60 percent of those denied benefits by an administrative law judge are subsequently allowed benefits within ten years, showing that most applicants apply, reapply, and appeal until they get benefits.
Cet article s'intéresse à la pratique du placement vers l'emploi pour des bénéficiaires en situation de handicap affiliés à l'assurance-invalidité en Suisse. En prenant appui sur une approche ...pragmatique, il montre que la pratique du placement peut mener à un risque de déclassement professionnel et salarial du bénéficiaire dans son processus de recherche d'emploi sur le marché du travail. Cette incitation à un déclassement peut être engendrée par le dispositif même de l'assurance-invalidité, avec notamment l'idée que l'employeur n'a pas à prendre de risques financiers au moment de l'embauche.
Longitudinal administrative data show that rejected male applicants to the Disability Insurance (DI) program who are younger or have low-mortality impairments such as back pain and mental health ...problems exhibit substantial labor force attachment. While we confirm that employment rates of older rejected applicants are low, continued high numbers of younger and low-mortality beneficiaries have raised the potential employment of DI beneficiaries. Three findings support economic inducement to apply. Mean preapplication earnings have fallen, rejected applicants experience preapplication declines in earnings, and beneficiaries whose first applications were rejected at the DDS level but who ultimately received benefits exhibit substantial employment. JEL: H55, J14, J28, J31 PUBLICATION ABSTRACT
The public debate over disability insurance has centered on concerns about individuals without severe health conditions receiving benefits. We go beyond health risk alone to quantify the overall ...insurance value of U.S. disability programs, including value from insuring nonhealth risk. We find that disability recipients, especially those with less‐severe health conditions, are much more likely to have experienced a wide variety of nonhealth shocks than nonrecipients. Selection into disability receipt on the basis of nonhealth shocks is so strong among individuals with less‐severe health conditions that by many measures less‐severe recipients are worse off than more‐severe recipients. As a result, under baseline assumptions, benefits to less‐severe recipients have an annual surplus value (insurance benefit less efficiency cost) over cost‐equivalent tax cuts of $7700 per recipient, about three‐fourths that of benefits to more‐severe recipients ($9900). Insurance against nonhealth risk accounts for about one‐half of the value of U.S. disability programs.
The U.S. Social Security Disability Insurance (DI) program has grown dramatically over the last 20 years in size and expense. This growth poses significant risks to the finances of the DI program and ...the broader Social Security system, and raises troubling questions as to whether the program is being misused by claimants. This article first provides an overview of the Disability Insurance program, describing who qualifies for the program, how an individual applies for benefits and how the level of benefits is determined. Next, we summarize the factors responsible for the growth in the DI rolls and discuss how the characteristics of DI recipients have changed as a result. We then explore the extent of moral hazard in the DI program and the effectiveness of the screening process in distinguishing meritorious from nonmeritorious claims. Finally, we identify the challenges that the DI program creates for Social Security finances and Social Security reform, and discuss potential reforms to the DI program.
Purpose of Review
This study explores legal aspects of migraine in the workplace. While the high prevalence of migraine is well-documented, its effects on the livelihoods of those living with the ...disease are less understood. Because migraine symptoms are often invisible, discussions concerning migraine in the workplace can be challenging. What are the rights of persons with migraine in the workplace? Time off may provide a brief respite, but it is not a long-term solution. Claiming disability for migraine has challenges, including barriers to doing so and required paperwork. How can persons with migraine remain employed and productive? How can persons with migraine receive accommodation from their employer or take time off to treat their condition?
Recent Findings
Many employers offer comprehensive benefit packages that allow for sick days, time off, mental health days, and accommodations that may give persons with migraine temporary reprieve. However, it may not be sufficient, particularly for those with chronic migraine. Further, not all employers offer comprehensive benefits. Employees with migraine may need to seek protection under the law. Our research closely examines the primary legal avenues that persons with migraine may pursue while living and working with migraine. In exploring the legal aspects of migraine, we couple our exploration with relevant case law.
Summary
Through this lens, we conclude that migraine is becoming less stigmatized and more legitimized in the eyes of the court. It is the belief of the authors that at least some of the change in the attitude towards migraine is the result of strong patient advocacy and significant advances in research over the past several years.
•Close funding gap for the Australian National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).•Use machine learning to closes the gap between budget and expenditure for the NDIS.•Machine learning model closes ...the gap faster than policymaker.•Identify significant variables by decision tree and regression analysis.
The Australian National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) allocates funds to participants for purchase of services. Only one percent of the 89,299 participants spent all of their allocated funds with 85 participants having failed to spend any, meaning that most of the participants were left with unspent funds. The gap between the allocated budget and realised expenditure reflects misallocation of funds. Thus we employ alternative machine learning techniques to estimate budget and close the gap while maintaining the aggregate level of spending. Three experiments are conducted to test the machine learning models in estimating the budget, expenditure and the resulting gap; compare the learning rate between machines and humans; and identify the significant explanatory variables. Results show that machines learn “faster” than humans; machine learning models can improve the efficiency of the NDIS implementation; and significant explanatory variables identified by decision tree models and regression analysis are similar.
Abstract
Objective
To compare cardiovascular disease (CVD) rates in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) beneficiaries of the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) with commercially insured RA patients.
...Method
We created three cohorts of RA patients aged < 65 years for SSDI and three for Marketscan using claims data from 2006 to 2016. The cohort definitions were as follows: (1) cohort 1: ≥ 2 diagnosis codes for RA occurring 7–365 days apart with ≥ 1 diagnosis code from a rheumatologist; (2) cohort 2: ≥ 1 diagnosis code for RA from a rheumatologist and a disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDS); and (3) cohort 3: cohort 2, plus initiation of a new biologic/tofacitinib. We used Cox regression to determine the CVD risk comparing SSDI vs. Marketscan. Models were sequentially adjusted for age and sex (model 1); model 1 + diabetes, smoking, and high CVD risk (model 2); and model 2 + dual eligible (Medicare and Medicaid), subsidy, and state buy in (model 3).
Results
There were 380,336 RA patients, mean age 53.3 (SD 8.1) years, 21–24% male. Prevalence of comorbidities was higher in SSDI vs. Marketscan. SSDI RA patients in cohort 2 (model 3) had higher CVD risk (HR 1.23 (1.14–1.33). In cohort 3 (model 3), CVD risk was not statistically significantly different between SSDI and Marketscan (HR 0.89 (0.69–1.15).
Conclusion
RA patient beneficiaries of the SSDI had higher risk for CVD events than those employed. The differences in CVD events between SSDI and Marketscan were partially attributable to differences in CVD risk factors.
An estimated 17.6% of blue-collar, manufacturing jobs were lost in the United States between 1970 and 2016. These jobs, often union-represented, provided relatively generous pay and benefits, ...creating a path to the middle class for individuals without a four-year college degree. Evidence suggests the closure of manufacturing facilities and resulting decline in economic opportunity increased demand for disability insurance (SSDI) among blue-collar workers. In recent years, the opening of Amazon Fulfillment Centers (FCs) has accelerated around the country, driving a wave of blue-collar job creation. We estimated the extent to which the opening of FCs affected SSDI application rates, including rates of approvals and denials, using a synthetic control group approach. We found that FC openings were associated with a 1.4% reduction in the SSDI application rate over the subsequent three years, translating to 5,528 fewer applications per year across commuting zones with an FC opening. Our findings are consistent with FC openings improving economic opportunities in local labor markets, though our confidence intervals were wide and included the null.
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