Panel: Disability, Program Participation, and Interactions Between Government- and Family-Provided Supports
(Poverty and Income Policy)

Thursday, November 6, 2014: 1:00 PM-2:30 PM
Santa Ana (Convention Center)

*Names in bold indicate Presenter

Panel Organizers:  Yonatan Ben-Shalom, Mathematica Policy Research
Panel Chairs:  Jody Schimmel, Mathematica Policy Research
Discussants:  Matthew S. Rutledge, Boston College and Todd Honeycutt, Mathematica Policy Research

This panel addresses the relationships between self-reported disability, disability program participation, and government- and family-provided supports. The first paper in this panel combines administrative and survey estimates to provide state-level statistics on the participation of working-age people with self-reported disabilities in SSDI, SSI, Medicare, and Medicaid; describes the methodological considerations involved in their calculation; and explains how the statistics can support assessments of how well each state is meeting the needs of its working-age disability population. The second paper in this panel examines a relationship that is fundamental to the statistics presented in the first: the connection between self-reported disability and disability benefit receipt. Using data from both the US and seven European countries, the authors find that differences in reporting styles across countries can be linked to disability policies—most notably program generosity. The third paper focuses on the relationship between government-provided disability benefits and family-provided assistance. Preliminary results suggest that government-provided disability insurance is important because other forms of support may not completely offset the costs of disability. Furthermore, families of disabled recipients continue to bear an important burden long after disability onset.
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