The Effects of Disability Insurance: Evidence from Social Security's Disabled-Widow Program

This study measures the effect of disability insurance on labor supply and health insurance coverage. The effect is identified by a policy in 1990 that increased the generosity of Social Security's disabled-widow program. Using data from the Current Population Survey, the results suggest that, in this context, disability benefits led to a one-to-one decline in labor force participation, employment, and private insurance coverage. The results imply that the demand for disability benefits may not reflect a latent demand for public health insurance

Health Information and Social Security Entitlements

This study examines whether new health information, obtained through medical screening, affects entitlements to Social Security benefits. Random assignment of information is derived from a unique feature of the Continuous National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. To examine the effect of information on entitlements, the survey data are matched to administrative data from the Social Security Administration. The results suggest that new health information leads to delayed entitlements, particularly among workers near the early retirement age

Public Sentiment and Tobacco Control Policy

The well-documented correlation between cigarette excise taxes and cigarette demand may not be entirely causal if excise taxes reflect public sentiment towards smoking. I consider whether proxies for smoking sentiment -- the prevalence of smoking by education and intention to quit statuses -- are correlated with support for and implementation of tobacco control laws. I find that cigarette excise taxes are most sensitive to the prevalence of educated smokers who do not want to quit. Additionally, when proxies for public sentiment are included, the estimated elasticity of cigarette demand declines from -2.0 to -1.3

Accounting for Disability Insurance in the Dynamic Relationship Between Disability Onset and Earnings

The onset of a work-limiting disability coincides with an immediate decline in earnings with little recovery. This study examines whether this relationship is attributable to the labor disincentives of disability insurance. The data come from the Survey of Income and Program Participation linked to administrative data from the Social Security Administration. The analysis suggests that disability insurance accounts for little of the initial drop in earnings at the time of disability onset, but its effect may increase as time since disability onset elapses. The results highlight the advantages of immediate, though temporary disability benefits

Public Sentiment and Tobacco Control Policy

The well-documented correlation between cigarette excise taxes and cigarette demand may not be entirely causal if excise taxes reflect public sentiment towards smoking. I consider whether proxies for smoking sentiment--the prevalence of smoking by education and intention to quit statuses--are correlated with support for and implementation of tobacco control laws. I find that cigarette excise taxes are most sensitive to the prevalence of educated smokers who do not want to quit. Additionally, when proxies for public sentiment are included, the estimated elasticity of cigarette demand declines from -2.0 to -1.3

The Effect of Disability Insurance on Health Investment: Evidence from the VA Disability Compensation Program

I examine whether individuals respond to monetary incentives to detect latent medical conditions. The effect is identified by an amendment to Title 38 that deemed diabetes associated with Agent Orange exposure a compensable disability under the VA’s Disability Compensation program. Since a diagnosis is a requisite for benefit eligibility, and nearly one-third of diabetics remain undiagnosed, the advent of disability insurance may have encouraged the detection of diabetes among the previously undiagnosed population. Evidence from the National Health Interview Survey suggests that the policy increased the prevalence of diabetes by 2.7 percentage points among veterans

Health, Medical Innovation and Disability Insurance: A Case Study of HIV Antiretroviral Therapy

This study examines the effect of health on SSDI outcomes. The effect is identified by a new antiretroviral therapy to treat the human immunodeficiency virus. Administrative data on SSDI applications come from the Disability Research File. According to the analysis, the new therapy had an immediate and persistent effect on program entry. By 1997, the therapy decreased applications by 35.2 percent and new awards by 36.7 percent. Among existing beneficiaries, the therapy decreased program exits through death, but did not substantially increase program exits for work. By 1999, the therapy increased HIV-related expenditures by $43.6 million

The Effect of Disability Insurance on Health Investment: Evidence from the VA Disability Compensation Program

This paper examines whether individuals respond to monetary incentives to detect latent medical conditions. The effect is identified by an amendment to Title 38 that deemed diabetes associated with Agent Orange exposure a compensable disability under the VA's Disability Compensation program. Since a diagnosis is a requisite for benefit eligibility, and nearly one-third of diabetics remain undiagnosed, the advent of disability insurance may have encouraged the detection of diabetes among the previously undiagnosed population. Evidence from the National Health Interview Survey suggests that the policy increased the prevalence of diabetes by 2.7 percentage points among veterans

Federal Policy and the Rise in Disability Enrollment: Evidence for the VA's Disability Compensation Program

The U.S. Department of Veterans' Affairs (VA) currently provides disability benefits to 2.72 million veterans of U.S. military service through the Disability Compensation (DC) program. Until recently, the medical eligibility criteria for this program were the same across service eras, with the key condition being that the disability was caused or aggravated by military service. But in July of 2001, the VA relaxed the eligibility criteria for Vietnam veterans by including diabetes in the list of conditions covered by DC. This change was motivated by an Institute of Medicine report, which linked exposure to Agent Orange and other herbicides used by the U.S. military in Vietnam, to the onset of diabetes. In this paper, we investigate the impact of this policy change on DC enrollment, expenditures, and the sensitivity of the program to economic conditions. Our findings demonstrate that the Agent Orange decision increased DC enrollment by 7.6 percentage points among Vietnam veterans and that an additional 3.3 percent enjoyed an increase in their DC benefits. Our estimates further suggest that the policy change increased program expenditures by $2.69 billion during the 2006 fiscal year and by$45 billion in present value terms. After the policy took effect, we find that the sensitivity of the program to local economic conditions increased substantially. Taken together, our results suggest that even relatively narrow changes in the medical eligibility criteria for federal disability programs can have a powerful effect on program enrollment and expenditures.

The Effective Target of the Social Security Disability Benefits Reform Act of 1984

A substantial portion of the rise in Social Security Disability Insurance rolls since 1984 has been attributed to the Social Security Disability Benefits Reform Act. Using data from the National Health Insurance Survey, I examine whom the act effectively targeted. The analysis shows that new enrollees were demonstrably taller than previous enrollees, suggesting that the act expanded eligibility to individuals in better health and socioeconomic circumstances. However, the estimated effect of increased SSDI eligibility on employment is low, suggesting that the act targeted males who would have otherwise been unemployed