Health Care When Workers Need it Most: Before and after Entry into the Social Security Disability Insurance Program

Abstract

This study analyzed survey data on Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) beneficiaries during the six-year window surrounding SSDI entitlement to illustrate changes in characteristics, insurance status, and health care access. We found that SSDI beneficiaries were less likely to be insured than the general working-age population, even three years before SSDI entitlement, and their uninsurance rates remained high until the third year after SSDI entitlement. Health care access problems were reported frequently during all periods surrounding SSDI entitlement, and poverty rates increased markedly post-entitlement. The findings suggest that there are significant gaps in the safety net for disabled workers before, during, and after the transition to SSDI.