Trends in the Social Security and Supplemental Security Income Disability Programs

Program Cost and Size

Introduction

This section describes the overall size and cost of the Social Security disability program and the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program for the disabled. The costs considered include only the costs of the programs' cash benefits; they do not include the administrative costs associated with managing the programs. Except for Chart 10, all data on SSI costs are federal payments only.

The section first examines trends in the cost of these programs and then seeks to determine how these trends are generated, looking initially at trends in the number of disabled beneficiaries (and dependents) and SSI recipients and then at the trends in average cost per individual over time. It also looks at the cost and size of the Medicare and Medicaid programs.

Costs for each of the programs have risen dramatically over time: in nominal dollars, in real (inflation-adjusted) dollars, and as a percentage of gross domestic product. The programs have grown in terms of numbers of beneficiaries and recipients; relative to the eligible population, however, the programs have tended to go through periods of contraction and expansion. Perhaps the most significant finding is that the costs of health coverage for the disabled under Medicare and, even more dramatically, Medicaid are rising faster than the cost of the disability programs' cash benefits.

Social Security Disability

Total cost of benefits

The total cost of cash benefits for the Social Security disability program has increased dramatically since its inception. Since 1990 the total cost of disability has risen 93 percent in real terms (160 percent in nominal terms).

Chart 1. Total cost of Social Security disability benefits, by type of beneficiary, 1970–2003
Area chart with tabular version below.
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Table equivalent for Chart 1. Total cost of Social Security disability benefits, by type of beneficiary, 1970–2003 (in millions of 2003 dollars)
Year disabled Disabled
workers
Spouses Children Disabled
adult
children
Disabled
widow(er)s
1970 11,336 764 2,102 1,101 225
1971 13,578 861 2,417 1,251 275
1972 15,724 971 2,702 1,568 366
1973 18,653 1,121 3,032 1,534 419
1974 20,106 1,136 3,267 1,634 494
1975 22,940 1,278 3,723 1,773 601
1976 25,935 1,416 4,205 1,919 667
1977 28,063 1,499 4,461 2,046 708
1978 28,081 1,473 4,511 2,108 701
1979 27,232 1,396 4,311 2,153 676
1980 27,370 1,362 4,235 2,295 670
1981 28,192 1,341 4,188 2,446 648
1982 27,968 1,231 3,541 2,623 638
1983 27,647 1,104 3,144 2,749 610
1984 27,344 938 3,047 2,874 702
1985 27,793 919 3,050 3,000 683
1986 29,036 912 3,152 3,150 685
1987 28,832 850 3,076 3,273 680
1988 29,312 809 3,057 3,375 659
1989 29,690 764 2,976 3,492 654
1990 30,459 731 2,974 3,590 649
1991 33,062 735 3,173 3,743 747
1992 36,179 743 3,459 3,908 865
1993 39,076 723 3,934 4,055 968
1994 41,503 713 4,220 4,198 1,059
1995 43,956 693 4,456 4,323 1,142
1996 46,046 598 4,688 4,414 1,195
1997 46,941 547 4,682 4,528 1,238
1998 48,877 514 4,778 4,611 1,277
1999 50,876 474 4,861 4,692 1,306
2000 52,799 446 4,946 4,800 1,331
2001 56,577 434 5,128 4,956 1,372
2002 60,994 431 5,435 5,010 1,389
2003 64,811 431 5,664 5,122 1,416
 
SOURCE: Annual Statistical Supplement to the Social Security Bulletin, 2004, Tables 4.A6 and 5.A17 (monthly amount multiplied by 12).
NOTES: This chart excludes a small number of young spouses of retired workers and mothers who are entitled solely on the basis of having a disabled adult child in their care. In 2003, there were fewer than 20,000 mothers and fewer than 12,000 young spouses, for whom the costs were $200 million and $80 million, respectively. Those costs are less than one-quarter of 1 percent of the expenditures in 2003.
All dollar amounts are in constant (price-adjusted) 2003 dollars.

The cost of Social Security disability benefits in constant dollars has increased over time, though not consistently.1 Benefit costs grew rapidly during the 1970s and peaked in 1978. A decline in those costs occurred in the early 1980s as the result of changes in program administration that reduced the number of applications and awards as well as the number of disabled-worker beneficiaries. By the late 1980s, benefit costs had begun to increase again, and they continue to rise. The largest increase in cost is among disabled-worker beneficiaries, who accounted for nearly $65 billion of the total $77 billion in 2003.

Number of beneficiaries

Much of the increase in costs for Social Security disability benefits is due to increases in the number of beneficiaries. Since 1990, the number of disabled-worker beneficiaries has increased 84 percent; disabled widow(er)s, 105 percent; and disabled adult children, 24 percent.

Chart 2. Number of disabled Social Security beneficiaries, by type of beneficiary, December 1970–2003
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Table equivalent for Chart 2. Number of disabled Social Security beneficiaries, by type of beneficiary, December 1970–2003 (in millions)
Year All disabled
beneficiaries
Disabled
workers
Disabled
adult
children
Disabled
widow(er)s
1970 1.81 1.49 0.27 0.05
1971 1.99 1.65 0.29 0.06
1972 2.20 1.83 0.31 0.06
1973 2.42 2.02 0.32 0.08
1974 2.67 2.24 0.34 0.09
1975 2.96 2.49 0.36 0.11
1976 3.17 2.67 0.38 0.12
1977 3.37 2.84 0.40 0.13
1978 3.43 2.88 0.42 0.13
1979 3.44 2.87 0.44 0.13
1980 3.44 2.86 0.45 0.13
1981 3.36 2.78 0.46 0.12
1982 3.19 2.60 0.47 0.12
1983 3.17 2.57 0.49 0.11
1984 3.21 2.60 0.51 0.11
1985 3.29 2.66 0.53 0.11
1986 3.38 2.73 0.55 0.11
1987 3.45 2.79 0.56 0.11
1988 3.51 2.83 0.57 0.10
1989 3.58 2.90 0.59 0.10
1990 3.71 3.01 0.60 0.10
1991 3.93 3.19 0.62 0.11
1992 4.24 3.47 0.64 0.13
1993 4.53 3.73 0.66 0.15
1994 4.80 3.96 0.67 0.16
1995 5.04 4.19 0.69 0.17
1996 5.26 4.39 0.70 0.18
1997 5.40 4.51 0.70 0.19
1998 5.61 4.70 0.71 0.19
1999 5.80 4.88 0.72 0.20
2000 5.97 5.04 0.73 0.20
2001 6.21 5.27 0.74 0.20
2002 6.49 5.54 0.74 0.21
2003 6.83 5.87 0.75 0.21
 
SOURCES: Annual Statistical Report on the Social Security Disability Insurance Program, 2004, Table 1; Annual Statistical Supplement to the Social Security Bulletin (authors' compilation of missing years).

The number of disabled beneficiaries in each beneficiary category is shown for the period 1970–2003. All of the categories have shown steady increases in the number of beneficiaries, with few exceptions. One exception is the period of the early 1980s, when the number of disabled workers declined as the result of changes in the structure of benefits in the 1977 and 1980 Amendments and increased stringency in adjudicating claims and conducting continuing disability reviews.

Number of disabled-worker beneficiaries

Although the number of disabled workers has been increasing since 1983, their growth as a percentage of the insured population has been considerably slower.

Chart 3. Number of disabled-worker beneficiaries and as a percentage of the insured population, December 1970–2003
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Table equivalent for Chart 3. Number of disabled-worker beneficiaries and as a percentage of the insured population, December 1970–2003
Year Number
(in millions)
As a percentage
of insured
population
(in percent)
1970 1.49 2.00
1971 1.65 2.17
1972 1.83 2.36
1973 2.02 2.51
1974 2.24 2.69
1975 2.49 2.92
1976 2.67 3.07
1977 2.83 3.17
1978 2.88 3.07
1979 2.87 2.93
1980 2.86 2.85
1981 2.78 2.71
1982 2.60 2.49
1983 2.57 2.44
1984 2.60 2.42
1985 2.66 2.42
1986 2.73 2.44
1987 2.79 2.45
1988 2.83 2.45
1989 2.90 2.45
1990 3.01 2.51
1991 3.19 2.63
1992 3.47 2.82
1993 3.73 3.00
1994 3.96 3.14
1995 4.19 3.26
1996 4.39 3.37
1997 4.51 3.40
1998 4.70 3.49
1999 4.88 3.56
2000 5.04 3.63
2001 5.27 3.75
2002 5.54 3.88
2003 5.87 4.05
 
SOURCES: Annual Statistical Supplement to the Social Security Bulletin, 2004, Table 4.C1; Annual Statistical Report on the Social Security Disability Insurance Program, 2003, Table 1.

When considered relative to the number of workers insured in the event of disability, the growth in disabled workers has been more moderate than what is suggested by raw numbers. After a period of stability (in terms of the number of beneficiaries relative to the number insured for disability) between 1982 and 1989, the program is again growing. A number of factors are contributing to this increase, including the aging of the baby boomers into more disability-prone years. (The baby-boom generation was born after World War II, between 1946 and 1964. The number of births peaked in 1957.)

Average cost per beneficiary

In real terms, the average cost per beneficiary of all Social Security disability cash benefits has increased 33 percent since 1970. Yet the average costs for disabled workers and disabled widow(er)s were relatively stable from the mid-1980s until recently. Thus, increased benefit costs are not strictly due to increasing numbers of beneficiaries.

Chart 4. Average annual cost per beneficiary of Social Security disability benefits, 1970–2003
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Table equivalent for Chart 4. Average annual cost per beneficiary of Social Security disability benefits, 1970–2003
Year All a Disabled
workers
Disabled
adult
children
Disabled
widow(er)s
1970 8,565.49 7,592.92 4,068.02 4,556.52
1971 9,236.73 8,240.73 4,378.53 4,848.73
1972 9,686.76 8,578.70 5,141.88 5,700.32
1973 10,250.60 9,249.80 4,793.77 5,320.05
1974 9,976.42 8,988.45 4,791.84 5,363.59
1975 10,239.25 9,217.20 4,893.44 5,487.28
1976 10,766.13 9,712.73 5,028.12 5,586.39
1977 10,916.27 9,890.44 5,061.36 5,559.61
1978 10,752.04 9,750.96 5,019.69 5,405.29
1979 10,410.42 9,486.45 4,946.53 5,205.09
1980 10,456.30 9,574.18 5,098.46 5,253.93
1981 10,953.15 10,153.73 5,282.20 5,330.92
1982 11,277.33 10,742.02 5,553.24 5,486.21
1983 11,124.48 10,761.58 5,627.92 5,465.33
1984 10,867.17 10,531.02 5,676.63 6,431.84
1985 10,775.20 10,461.86 5,704.42 6,378.96
1986 10,926.12 10,641.89 5,779.98 6,399.45
1987 10,630.26 10,349.27 5,832.20 6,398.79
1988 10,608.78 10,356.60 5,877.00 6,387.95
1989 10,485.72 10,254.22 5,953.79 6,431.75
1990 10,343.71 10,114.95 5,978.77 6,428.74
1991 10,561.77 10,348.16 6,076.05 6,526.64
1992 10,659.32 10,433.01 6,134.66 6,587.25
1993 10,764.16 10,487.45 6,176.71 6,586.27
1994 10,777.63 10,472.64 6,240.34 6,593.46
1995 10,817.87 10,502.53 6,300.54 6,603.11
1996 10,816.40 10,499.29 6,334.99 6,567.86
1997 10,727.41 10,412.53 6,425.03 6,586.78
1998 10,714.29 10,403.12 6,468.83 6,575.40
1999 10,728.01 10,426.53 6,512.60 6,569.12
2000 10,769.71 10,471.10 6,587.26 6,604.90
2001 11,027.38 10,739.68 6,728.42 6,717.30
2002 11,285.55 11,010.59 6,729.31 6,700.60
2003 11,337.70 11,043.80 6,804.00 6,765.60
 
SOURCES: Annual Statistical Supplement to the Social Security Bulletin, 2004, Tables 4.A6 and 5.A17; Annual Statistical Report on the Social Security Disability Insurance Program, 2003, Table 1.
NOTE: All dollar amounts are in constant (price-adjusted) 2003 dollars. Costs have been annualized for disabled widow(er)s and disabled adult children paid from the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund.
a. Includes all types of disability beneficiaries (disabled workers, disabled adult children, and disabled widow(er)s), with any benefits paid to dependents (for example, spouses or minor children) included in the average.

The average cash benefit cost per disabled beneficiary has generally risen during the period 1970–2003, although the cost declined slightly in the early 1980s. The increase in average benefits in the early to mid-1970s was probably related to ad hoc benefit increases of 15 percent, 10 percent, and 20 percent that became effective in January 1970, January 1971, and September 1972, respectively. An additional ad hoc benefit increase of 11 percent occurred in two steps in March and June 1974. Legislation in 1972 resulted in an automatic benefit adjustment for annual increases in the consumer price index beginning in June 1975. Although this adjustment was intended to stabilize benefits, the way the adjustment was made resulted in overcompensation for inflation, because it did not factor in inflation-related wage increases.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, there were small reductions in average benefit costs, probably because of changes in the benefit computation that applied to future beneficiaries. These changes, enacted in 1977, 1980, and 1981, "decoupled" the benefit formula from wages to end the "double indexing" from the 1972 legislation, capped family benefits and reduced dropout years, and eliminated the minimum benefit, respectively. Delaying scheduled cost-of-living adjustments in 1983 may have also contributed to this result. From the late 1980s to the late 1990s, the average cost was fairly stable for disabled workers and disabled widow(er)s, while benefits for disabled adult children rose. The stability of the average cost over 20 years is surprising, since benefit calculations are wage indexed and would tend to increase benefits over time. It has been suggested that lower-wage workers have been increasingly attracted to the disability rolls because of implicit increases in replacement rates for low earners resulting from increasing disparity in the wage distribution. This could help explain the stability of costs per beneficiary during this period. Similarly, increases in the number of women insured for disability, whose numbers are a growing portion of the total number of disabled, could also account for this result, since women, on average, have lower earnings than do men. Further research is required to fully understand the underlying patterns affecting average benefit costs.

The cost per beneficiary for disabled adult children, on the other hand, has increased the most (67 percent) during this period. Since 2000, the average benefit cost for workers and widow(er)s has begun to increase. One possible reason for the increase in the cost per beneficiary is that wage increases exceeded price increases in the mid- to late 1990s, yielding higher real benefits. The average expenditure on all disability benefits, including benefits to dependents, increased by a third from 1970 to 2003, but more slowly (10 percent) between 1990 and 2003.

Beneficiaries also receiving Supplemental Security Income

The rates of concurrency reached a peak for disabled workers and disabled adult children in the mid-1990s and have decreased slightly since then. The rate of concurrency for disabled widow(er)s declined abruptly in 1983 because of a change in the benefit calculation and generally has continued to decline.

Chart 5. Percentage of Social Security disability beneficiaries also receiving SSI benefits, by type of beneficiary, December 1981–2003
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Table equivalent for Chart 5. Percentage of Social Security disability beneficiaries also receiving SSI benefits, by type of beneficiary, December 1981–2003
Year Disabled
workers
Disabled
adult
children
Disabled
widow(er)s
1981 9.92 36.84 27.93
1982 9.98 36.98 27.31
1983 10.50 37.67 27.67
1984 11.35 38.38 22.50
1985 12.21 39.62 22.67
1986 13.09 40.19 22.73
1987 14.00 40.81 23.23
1988 14.53 41.15 23.22
1989 15.22 41.46 23.06
1990 15.43 41.63 22.94
1991 15.94 41.71 22.48
1992 16.37 41.90 22.32
1993 16.81 42.23 22.48
1994 16.94 42.41 22.47
1995 16.58 42.22 22.01
1996 15.75 41.85 21.48
1997 15.69 41.44 21.21
1998 15.34 41.40 20.65
1999 15.09 40.97 20.01
2000 14.74 40.46 19.41
2001 14.62 40.19 18.69
2002 14.43 39.78 18.23
 
SOURCE: Annual Statistical Supplement to the Social Security Bulletin (authors' compilation of data).

The rate of concurrency, that is, the percentage of Social Security disability beneficiaries who also receive SSI for the blind and disabled, increased for disabled workers and disabled adult children until the mid-1990s and has decreased slightly since then. The change was particularly large for disabled workers, with an increase from 10 percent receiving SSI payments in 1981 to 17 percent in 1993. Since then, the rate has fallen to 14 percent.

A policy change in 1983, which changed the actuarial reduction for disabled widow(er)s under the age of 60, resulted in an abrupt decline in the percentage receiving SSI. That change capped the actuarial reduction for disabled widow(er)s aged 50–59 at the level of reduction effective for widow(er)s at age 60, resulting in increased benefits for disabled widow(er)s younger than 60. The percentage of disabled widow(er)s receiving SSI payments has generally continued to decline since that time.

Medicare for the Disabled

Total cost of benefits

The cost of Medicare benefits, which are provided to disabled Social Security beneficiaries (but not to dependents) after a 24-month waiting period, has been rising dramatically, with costs increasing 90 percent in real terms between 1990 and 2001.

Chart 6. Total cost of Medicare for the disabled, 1973–2001
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Table equivalent for Chart 6. Total cost of Medicare for the disabled, 1973–2001
Year Hospital
Insurance
Supplementary
Medical
Insurance
1973 0.69 0.16
1974 2.36 1.13
1975 3.26 1.70
1976 4.11 2.17
1977 4.73 2.58
1978 5.15 2.92
1979 5.57 3.31
1980 5.96 3.65
1981 6.48 3.92
1982 7.50 4.48
1983 7.59 4.62
1984 7.92 4.36
1985 8.02 4.54
1986 8.44 4.99
1987 8.44 5.49
1988 8.53 5.57
1989 9.98 6.22
1990 9.89 6.37
1991 10.31 6.83
1992 11.40 7.39
1993 12.04 8.05
1994 14.17 9.02
1995 15.25 10.00
1996 15.76 10.48
1997 16.33 10.83
1998 15.21 11.49
1999 14.71 11.86
2000 14.95 12.35
2001 16.73 14.23
 
SOURCE: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Medicare & Medicaid Statistical Supplement, Table 12, available at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MedicareMedicaidStatSupp/LT/list.asp.
NOTES: Medicare uses a different definition of disability, and not all disabled Medicare beneficiaries receive cash disability benefits from Social Security.
All dollar amounts are in constant (price-adjusted) 2003 dollars.

Medicare is provided to Social Security disabled beneficiaries (but not to dependents) after a 24-month waiting period. Medicare Hospital Insurance (Part A) is provided for free, but Supplementary Medical Insurance (Part B), which covers doctor bills, requires a monthly premium paid by the beneficiary or on the beneficiary's behalf.

Medicare benefit costs for the disabled have been rising dramatically, with costs increasing by 90 percent in real terms between 1990 and 2001. Supplementary Medical Insurance has been increasing as a share of all Medicare costs, rising from 34 percent of total cost in 1975, to 39 percent in 1990, and to 46 percent in 2001. Much of the increase in the cost of Medicare is due to an increase in the number of Medicare beneficiaries. However, the increasing cost in medical services has also contributed to the overall increase in benefit costs.

Number of beneficiaries

The number of disabled Medicare beneficiaries has increased in conjunction with the increase in disabled Social Security beneficiaries, up nearly 70 percent since 1990 (see Chart 2). The proportion of Medicare beneficiaries with Supplementary Medical Insurance has declined since the mid-1980s.

Chart 7. Number of disabled Medicare beneficiaries with Hospital Insurance and Supplementary Medical Insurance as of July 1, 1973–2001
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Table equivalent for Chart 7. Number of disabled Medicare beneficiaries with Hospital Insurance and Supplementary Medical Insurance as of July 1, 1973–2001
Year Hospital
Insurance
Supplementary
Medical
Insurance
1973 1.73 1.57
1974 1.93 1.75
1975 2.17 1.96
1976 2.39 2.17
1977 2.62 2.37
1978 2.79 2.54
1979 2.91 2.66
1980 2.96 2.72
1981 3.00 2.76
1982 2.95 2.71
1983 2.92 2.68
1984 2.88 2.65
1985 2.91 2.68
1986 2.96 2.73
1987 3.03 2.79
1988 3.10 2.84
1989 3.17 2.88
1990 3.26 2.94
1991 3.39 3.05
1992 3.58 3.24
1993 3.86 3.48
1994 4.15 3.74
1995 4.41 3.96
1996 4.65 4.17
1997 4.83 4.31
1998 5.04 4.49
1999 5.22 4.64
2000 5.37 4.77
2001 5.57 4.93
 
SOURCE: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Medicare & Medicaid Statistical Supplement, Table 5, available at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MedicareMedicaidStatSupp/LT/list.asp.
NOTE: Medicare uses a different definition of disability, and not all disabled Medicare beneficiaries receive cash disability benefits from Social Security.
Chart 8. Percentage of disabled Medicare beneficiaries with Supplementary Medical Insurance coverage and the SMI premium level as of July 1, 1973–2001
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Table equivalent for Chart 8. Percentage of disabled Medicare beneficiaries with Supplementary Medical Insurance coverage and the SMI premium level as of July 1, 1973–2001
Year SMI premium
(2003 dollars)
Percentage
with SMI
1973 25.13 90.70
1974 23.79 90.51
1975 22.25 90.36
1976 22.80 90.64
1977 22.85 90.61
1978 22.32 91.05
1979 20.90 91.34
1980 20.50 91.77
1981 21.57 92.00
1982 23.04 91.57
1983 22.20 91.91
1984 25.55 91.92
1985 26.14 92.12
1986 25.85 92.16
1987 28.59 91.98
1988 37.93 91.46
1989 46.62 90.92
1990 39.39 90.41
1991 39.96 90.16
1992 41.30 90.61
1993 46.26 90.09
1994 50.60 89.98
1995 55.35 89.73
1996 49.39 89.54
1997 50.05 89.19
1998 49.25 88.99
1999 49.83 88.94
2000 48.19 88.79
2001 52.15 88.63
 
SOURCES: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Medicare & Medicaid Statistical Supplement, Table 5, available at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MedicareMedicaidStatSupp/LT/list.asp; 2004 Annual Report of the Board of Trustees of the Federal Hospital Insurance and Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Funds, Table IV.C2.
NOTES: Medicare uses a different definition of disability, and not all disabled Medicare beneficiaries receive cash disability benefits from Social Security.
All dollar amounts are in constant (price-adjusted) 2003 dollars.

The number of disabled Medicare beneficiaries has increased in near lockstep with the increase in disabled Social Security beneficiaries, and it is up nearly 70 percent since 1990 (Chart 7). The proportion of disabled Medicare beneficiaries with Supplementary Medical Insurance (SMI) has varied over time (Chart 8). SMI coverage increased from 90.4 percent in 1975 to a peak of more than 92 percent in the mid- and late 1980s and dropped fairly consistently to a historical low of 88.6 percent in 2001.

It is unclear why fewer persons are electing SMI coverage, although the cost of premiums for individuals has been rising. For some low-income Medicare beneficiaries, special state programs funded through Medicaid pay all or part of the premium for SMI, making the decline in SMI coverage even more surprising. In 1988, the Qualified Medicare Beneficiary program mandated that states use Medicaid to pay all Medicare cost sharing (including Part B premiums) for Medicare beneficiaries with income less than 100 percent of poverty and resources less than twice the SSI resource limit. Beginning in 1990, the Specified Low-income Medicare Beneficiary program mandated that states pay the Part B premium for Medicare beneficiaries who are between 100 percent and 120 percent of poverty and whose resources are less than twice the SSI resource limit. In recent years, the proportion of disabled SMI enrollees who received this state SMI buy-in has risen slightly, from 39.7 percent in 1998 to 41.2 percent in 2001, yet overall SMI enrollment continues to decline.

Average cost per beneficiary

The average cost of Medicare benefits for disabled Medicare beneficiaries has generally increased over time; however, in the late 1990s, reductions in hospital payments helped reduce average Medicare costs, although costs are once again rising. Average Supplementary Medical Insurance benefits have increased consistently during this period.

Chart 9. Average annual cost per disabled beneficiary of Medicare benefits, 1973–2001
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Table equivalent for Chart 9. Average annual cost per disabled beneficiary of Medicare benefits, 1973–2001
Year HI and
SMI combined
Hospital
Insurance
Supplementary
Medical
Insurance
1973 490.87 400.99 99.09
1974 1,806.84 1,222.98 645.09
1975 2,286.82 1,504.13 866.20
1976 2,623.89 1,718.37 999.08
1977 2,791.02 1,806.29 1,086.82
1978 2,888.98 1,842.16 1,149.73
1979 3,049.19 1,912.55 1,244.36
1980 3,243.36 2,010.88 1,343.08
1981 3,468.22 2,161.34 1,420.56
1982 4,057.91 2,539.71 1,657.95
1983 4,184.25 2,601.83 1,721.67
1984 4,256.65 2,745.52 1,643.94
1985 4,320.16 2,758.10 1,695.63
1986 4,539.16 2,851.56 1,831.17
1987 4,594.10 2,783.65 1,968.25
1988 4,544.50 2,750.27 1,961.83
1989 5,110.08 3,148.00 2,158.09
1990 4,993.44 3,037.11 2,163.73
1991 5,064.79 3,047.24 2,237.68
1992 5,250.73 3,185.13 2,279.61
1993 5,200.87 3,115.81 2,314.54
1994 5,586.20 3,414.30 2,413.80
1995 5,726.58 3,459.53 2,526.65
1996 5,637.18 3,385.50 2,514.83
1997 5,623.76 3,381.87 2,513.60
1998 5,296.88 3,017.83 2,561.01
1999 5,090.74 2,818.77 2,554.37
2000 5,083.74 2,783.89 2,590.23
2001 5,560.73 3,005.00 2,883.61
 
SOURCE: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Medicare & Medicaid Statistical Supplement, Tables 5 and 12, available at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MedicareMedicaidStatSupp/LT/list.asp.
NOTES: Medicare uses a different definition of disability, and not all disabled Medicare beneficiaries receive cash disability benefits from Social Security.
All dollar amounts are in constant (price-adjusted) 2003 dollars.

The average cost of Medicare per beneficiary rose from 1973, when disabled Social Security beneficiaries were first eligible for Medicare, until the mid-1990s. In the late 1990s, the average cost of Medicare per beneficiary declined as the cost of Hospital Insurance declined. Cost containment in hospital reimbursements has probably contributed to the reductions in this component of Medicare costs. Hospital Insurance costs began to increase again in 2000, and overall Medicare costs are again rising in real terms. The average cost per beneficiary of Supplementary Medical Insurance has continued to rise through the 1990s, and the increase accelerated between 2000 and 2001.

SSI for the Blind and Disabled

Total cost of payments

The cost to the federal government of the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) disability program has increased nearly 90 percent in real terms (150 percent in nominal terms) since 1990. At the same time, the states' share of SSI has decreased.

Chart 10. Total cost of SSI payments to all blind and disabled recipients, by source, 1974–2003
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Table equivalent for Chart 10. Total cost of SSI payments to all blind and disabled recipients, by source, 1974–2003
Year Federal Federally administered
state supplementation
State-administered
supplementation
1974 7.28 2.25 0.18
1975 8.20 2.42 0.25
1976 8.64 2.38 0.25
1977 8.80 2.39 0.26
1978 8.64 2.33 0.24
1979 8.46 2.23 0.24
1980 8.56 2.33 0.23
1981 8.92 2.17 0.22
1982 9.26 2.09 0.22
1983 9.80 1.94 0.24
1984 10.66 2.01 0.27
1985 11.09 2.16 0.28
1986 12.19 2.48 0.31
1987 12.50 2.74 0.33
1988 12.94 2.75 0.34
1989 13.51 2.92 0.37
1990 14.29 3.03 0.39
1991 16.14 2.98 0.41
1992 19.93 3.13 0.42
1993 22.28 2.95 0.43
1994 23.28 2.76 0.44
1995 24.67 2.71 0.43
1996 25.35 2.50 0.36
1997 25.12 2.39 0.35
1998 25.95 2.43 0.48
1999 25.49 2.61 0.49
2000 25.12 2.58 0.52
2001 26.10 2.61 0.52
2002 26.67 2.82 0.52
2003 26.96 2.91 0.55
 
SOURCES: SSI Annual Statistical Report, 2003, Table 2; Annual Statistical Supplement to the Social Security Bulletin (authors' compilation of missing years).
NOTE: All dollar amounts are in constant (price-adjusted) 2003 dollars.

The cost to the federal government of SSI disability payments has increased nearly 90 percent in real terms (150 percent in nominal terms) since 1990. The states' share of SSI payments has decreased over time, with federal payments now making up nearly 89 percent of the total, up from 75 percent at the program's inception. The federal share peaked in 1997 at slightly more than 90 percent of the cost and has declined slightly since then. The reason for the diminishing role of the state dates back to the birth of the SSI program, when Congress mandated that states maintain, at a minimum, payment expenditures equal to the 1974 level: Congress did not require increases in state funding to make up for changes in the cost of living or in the number of persons participating in the SSI program.2 Although states' expenditures have increased over time, they have not kept pace with increases in the cost of living and the number of recipients.

Number of recipients

Increasing numbers of blind and disabled SSI recipients contribute to the higher cost of the SSI program; however, since the mid-1990s the number of SSI recipients has been relatively constant as a percentage of the population in each age group.

Chart 11. Number of SSI blind and disabled recipients and as a percentage of the population in each age group, December 1974–2003
Line chart with tabular version below.
Show as table
Table equivalent for Chart 11. Number of SSI blind and disabled recipients and as a percentage of the population in each age group, December 1974–2003
Year As a percentage
of population
Number,
in millions
Aged
18–64
Under
age 18
Aged
18–64
Under
age 18
1974 1.16 0.10 1.50 0.07
1975 1.29 0.15 1.70 0.11
1976 1.28 0.18 1.71 0.13
1977 1.27 0.22 1.74 0.15
1978 1.26 0.25 1.75 0.17
1979 1.22 0.27 1.73 0.18
1980 1.21 0.29 1.73 0.19
1981 1.17 0.30 1.70 0.19
1982 1.12 0.29 1.66 0.19
1983 1.14 0.30 1.70 0.20
1984 1.18 0.32 1.78 0.21
1985 1.23 0.35 1.88 0.23
1986 1.30 0.37 2.01 0.24
1987 1.36 0.38 2.12 0.25
1988 1.40 0.38 2.20 0.26
1989 1.45 0.40 2.30 0.26
1990 1.53 0.46 2.45 0.31
1991 1.63 0.57 2.64 0.40
1992 1.78 0.79 2.91 0.56
1993 1.91 1.01 3.15 0.72
1994 2.00 1.16 3.34 0.84
1995 2.06 1.26 3.48 0.92
1996 2.09 1.30 3.57 0.96
1997 2.06 1.19 3.56 0.88
1998 2.08 1.19 3.65 0.89
1999 2.08 1.13 3.69 0.85
2000 2.08 1.13 3.74 0.85
2001 2.09 1.17 3.81 0.88
2002 2.10 1.21 3.88 0.91
2003 2.13 1.28 3.95 0.96
 
SOURCES: SSI Annual Statistical Report, 2003, Table 3; 2004 Annual Report of the Supplemental Security Income Program, Table IV.A1.
NOTE: The reference population is the "Selected Social Security Area Population" of the appropriate age group and includes the population of the United States and several additional areas. See the glossary for a complete definition.

The number of blind and disabled SSI recipients has been increasing since the program began, with a few exceptions. The number of SSI disabled children grew dramatically after the Zebley decision in 1990. As the result of this growth, Congress enacted welfare reform legislation in 1996 (Public Law [P.L.] 104-193) that revamped the SSI definition of disability for children, and the program witnessed a small contraction thereafter. Currently, the SSI children's category is growing again, and in 2003 the number of recipients surpassed the 1996 peak. The SSI blind and disabled adult category was affected by legislation in 1996 (P.L. 104-121), which eliminated drug addiction and alcoholism as a basis for receiving benefits. As a result of this legislation, the number of SSI adults aged 18–64 in 1997 decreased slightly. Several pieces of legislation have also limited the access of noncitizens to SSI, which has, for the most part, limited the number of new awards to noncitizens.

Asset limits, which have not changed in two decades, combined with disregards of earned and unearned income that have been unchanged since the program started, may have served to tighten the program's financial eligibility criteria over time. As a percentage of the general population, SSI has been growing very slowly since the mid-1990s, much more slowly than was the case in the 1980s and early 1990s. The slow growth is particularly evident in the 18–64 age group.

Average cost per recipient

Although there were some increases in the average cost per SSI recipient in the early to mid-1990s and some reductions thereafter, the average cost has been fairly stable since 1980.

Chart 12. Average annual cost per blind and disabled recipient of SSI payments, by age, 1980–2003
Line chart with tabular version below.
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Table equivalent for Chart 12. Average annual cost per blind and disabled recipient of SSI payments, by age, 1980–2003
Year Aged 18–64 Under
age 18
1980 3,802.67 4,452.99
1981 3,962.97 4,607.59
1982 4,202.66 5,046.82
1983 4,346.68 5,265.68
1984 4,461.95 5,451.22
1985 4,381.54 5,457.87
1986 4,499.74 5,746.33
1987 4,414.17 5,728.72
1988 4,408.45 5,724.95
1989 4,419.04 5,655.47
1990 4,411.89 5,360.83
1991 4,755.92 5,646.58
1992 5,028.70 7,361.44
1993 5,145.91 6,837.36
1994 5,058.13 6,096.58
1995 5,112.56 6,097.21
1996 5,183.03 6,018.41
1997 5,134.50 6,389.37
1998 5,189.91 6,293.75
1999 5,148.73 6,250.60
2000 5,040.77 5,990.30
2001 5,186.74 6,036.87
2002 5,166.03 5,961.39
2003 5,217.73 5,953.85
 
SOURCES: SSI Annual Statistical Report, 2003, Table 3; 2004 Annual Report of the Supplemental Security Income Program, Table IV.C1.
NOTE: All dollar amounts are in constant (price-adjusted) 2003 dollars.

The average cost per SSI recipient has remained fairly stable since 1980. It increased slightly in the early to mid-1990s and declined slightly thereafter. This result is not unexpected for a program with a fixed benefit rate that is indexed to inflation. Changes over time are possible because of changes in countable income, backlogs, and retroactive payments, as well as other factors. The large increase in the average annual cost for SSI children in 1992 is probably an anomaly caused by the Zebley court decision. That decision produced a large increase of 40 percent in the number of disabled child recipients in a single year. Retroactive payments for new awards based on the Zebley decision probably resulted in the increased average expenditure that year, which exceeded the full means-tested payment.3

Disabled SSI recipients also receiving Social Security disability benefits

The proportion of SSI recipients aged 18–64 receiving a Social Security disability benefit has remained fairly constant at around 30 percent since 1981. The proportion of SSI recipients receiving disability benefits as a disabled worker increased from 16 percent in 1981 to 21.8 percent in 2003, while the proportion receiving disability benefits as a disabled adult child has declined since the late 1980s.

Chart 13. Percentage of SSI blind and disabled adults also receiving Social Security disability benefits, by type of benefit, December 1981–2003
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Table equivalent for Chart 13. Percentage of SSI blind and disabled adults also receiving Social Security disability benefits, by type of benefit, December 1981–2003
Year Any
Social
Security
benefit
Disabled
worker
Disabled
adult
child
Disabled
widow(er)
1981 27.66 16.17 9.49 0.02
1982 27.57 15.69 9.99 0.02
1983 27.89 15.88 10.23 0.02
1984 28.23 16.56 10.32 0.01
1985 29.02 17.26 10.48 0.01
1986 29.27 17.76 10.31 0.01
1987 29.77 18.40 10.22 0.01
1988 29.89 18.67 10.14 0.01
1989 30.27 19.28 9.98 0.01
1990 29.49 18.96 9.58 0.01
1991 29.37 19.29 9.11 0.01
1992 29.09 19.51 8.57 0.01
1993 29.16 19.89 8.21 0.01
1994 29.18 20.13 7.97 0.01
1995 28.75 19.93 7.73 0.01
1996 28.03 19.36 7.57 0.01
1997 28.56 19.86 7.58 0.01
1998 28.42 19.76 7.57 0.01
1999 28.48 19.93 7.47 0.01
2000 28.20 19.82 7.34 0.01
2001 28.40 20.17 7.24 0.01
2002 28.68 20.60 7.11 0.01
2003 29.77 21.84 7.01 0.01
 
SOURCE: SSI Annual Statistical Report, 2003, Tables 3 and 16.

SSI recipients aged 18–64 who are blind or disabled were much more likely to receive disabled-worker benefits under the Disability Insurance program in 2003 (21.8 percent) than they were in 1981 (16 percent). A number of factors may play a role in this increase. It has been suggested that the incentives may have increased for low earners to apply for disability benefits. Changes to SSI work incentives in 1980, most notably sections 1619a and 1619b, may have led to more SSI recipients working and thus earning insured status, which would make them eligible for a worker benefit. The Social Security Administration has been processing a special disability workload in recent years to determine whether SSI recipients might be eligible for a Social Security DI benefit on the basis of their own earnings record.

The proportion of SSI recipients aged 18–64 receiving any Social Security disability benefit—disabled worker, disabled adult child, disabled widow(er)—has remained fairly constant at around 30 percent since 1981. The percentage collecting Social Security DI benefits as disabled adult children has been declining since the late 1980s, and the percentage receiving disabled-widow(er) benefits declined slightly in the early 1980s and has remained at about 1 percent of SSI recipients since then.

Medicaid for the Disabled

Total cost of payments

Medicaid payments for the disabled have increased greatly in real terms since fiscal year 1975. Between 1990 and 2001, Medicaid payments for the disabled grew nearly 150 percent in real terms, the highest growth rate in costs among the programs under study.

Chart 14. Total cost of Medicaid for the disabled, fiscal years 1975–2001
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Table equivalent for Chart 14. Total cost of Medicaid for the disabled, fiscal years 1975–2001
Year Cost
(billions of
2003 dllars)
1975 10.44
1976 12.41
1977 14.49
1978 15.30
1979 16.54
1980 16.28
1981 18.54
1982 19.65
1983 20.68
1984 20.96
1985 22.68
1986 24.87
1987 26.86
1988 28.44
1989 30.52
1990 33.61
1991 37.76
1992 44.16
1993 48.86
1994 52.07
1995 59.33
1996 60.50
1997 61.85
1998 67.89
1999 72.11
2000 77.05
2001 83.65
 
SOURCE: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Medicare & Medicaid Statistical Supplement, 2003, Table 94 (fiscal year data), available at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MedicareMedicaidStatSupp/LT/list.asp.
NOTES: Medicaid uses a different definition of disability, and not all disabled Medicaid recipients receive payments from the SSI program. Also, not all SSI recipients are categorically eligible for Medicaid.
All dollar amounts are in constant (price-adjusted) 2003 dollars.

Medicaid benefits are available to the vast majority of disabled SSI recipients, supplementing Medicare benefits for SSI recipients who also receive Social Security disability benefits and have been through the 24-month waiting period. Medicaid is also available to other categories of disabled persons, in some cases with a buy-in for coverage.

Medicaid payments for the disabled have increased greatly in real terms since 1975. Between 1990 and 2001, they rose nearly 150 percent in real terms, the highest growth rate in costs among the programs under study. Costs associated with covering Qualified Medicare Beneficiaries (under a program established in 1988) and Specified Low-income Medicare Beneficiaries (a program that dates to 1990) contribute to the overall rise in payments.

Number of recipients

The number of disabled Medicaid recipients nearly tripled between fiscal years 1975 and 2001 and increased 90 percent between 1990 and 2001. Part of the increase is due to new Medicaid programs for the disabled, such as buy-ins.

Chart 15. Number of disabled Medicaid recipients, fiscal years 1975–2001
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Table equivalent for Chart 15. Number of disabled Medicaid recipients, fiscal years 1975–2001
Year Number (millions)
1975 2.46
1976 2.67
1977 2.80
1978 2.72
1979 2.75
1980 2.91
1981 3.08
1982 2.89
1983 2.92
1984 2.91
1985 3.01
1986 3.18
1987 3.38
1988 3.49
1989 3.59
1990 3.72
1991 4.03
1992 4.49
1993 5.02
1994 5.46
1995 5.86
1996 6.22
1997 6.13
1998 6.64
1999 6.70
2000 6.89
2001 7.11
 
SOURCE: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Medicare & Medicaid Statistical Supplement, 2003, Table 88, available at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MedicareMedicaidStatSupp/LT/list.asp.
NOTE: Medicaid uses a different definition of disability, and not all disabled Medicaid recipients receive payments from the SSI program. Also, not all SSI recipients are categorically eligible for Medicaid.

The number of disabled Medicaid recipients nearly tripled between 1975 and 2001 and increased 90 percent between 1990 and 2001. This number includes not only most SSI recipients but also other qualified disabled persons. Although some of this increase is due to growth in the number of disabled individuals in the general population and the number of SSI recipients, some of the increase is due to expansions in the Medicaid program since the late 1980s. Congress enacted several changes to the Medicaid program that increased the number of disabled persons eligible for the program. The numbers above include disabled Medicare beneficiaries who are Qualified Medicare Beneficiaries (covered under a program established in 1988) and Specified Low-income Medicare Beneficiaries (since 1990). Another legislated expansion for the disabled involved provisions for states to establish buy-in programs, through which a disabled individual who was working or had relatively high income or resources, and who would not normally qualify for Medicaid, could pay a premium to buy Medicaid coverage. States may subsidize the buy-in premium for persons with low income. These optional buy-in programs were permitted by Congress in 1997 and expanded in 1999. Many states do not have buy-in programs, and the number of participants is small in states with programs.

Average cost per recipient

Average cost of Medicaid payments for the disabled nearly tripled (an increase of 177 percent) between 1975 and 2001 and increased 30 percent in real terms from 1990 to 2001. Costs per disabled recipient exceeded $11,000 in 2001.

Chart 16. Average annual cost per disabled recipient of Medicaid payments, fiscal years 1975–2001
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Table equivalent for Chart 16. Average annual cost per disabled recipient of Medicaid payments, fiscal years 1975–2001
Year 2003 dollars
1975 4,238.50
1976 4,650.93
1977 5,171.93
1978 5,628.90
1979 6,006.73
1980 5,590.93
1981 6,020.73
1982 6,796.25
1983 7,079.95
1984 7,196.22
1985 7,530.73
1986 7,816.78
1987 7,943.70
1988 8,155.66
1989 8,502.57
1990 9,041.09
1991 9,361.96
1992 9,842.76
1993 9,741.28
1994 9,540.91
1995 10,128.68
1996 9,725.41
1997 10,091.12
1998 10,228.80
1999 10,765.94
2000 11,184.21
2001 11,770.45
 
SOURCE: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Medicare & Medicaid Statistical Supplement, 2003, Tables 88 and 94 (fiscal year data), available at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MedicareMedicaidStatSupp/LT/list.asp.
NOTES: Medicaid uses a different definition of disability, and not all disabled Medicaid recipients receive payments from the SSI program. Also, not all SSI recipients are categorically eligible for Medicaid.
All dollar amounts are in constant (price-adjusted) 2003 dollars.

The average cost of Medicaid per recipient has been increasing over time, indicating that the increase in the number of Medicaid recipients does not fully account for the increased cost of the Medicaid program. From 1975 to 2001, the cost per disabled recipient increased 177 percent in real terms, compared with a rise of 143 percent in Medicare over the same period. The cost of Medicaid per recipient in real terms increased at a slower rate over the period 1990 to 2001, increasing only 30 percent, while the total cost of Medicaid increased 150 percent during the same period. The 90 percent increase in the number of Medicaid recipients between 1990 and 2001 was the greater contributor to the increase in Medicaid cost over that period. In the most recent years, the increase in average Medicaid costs has accelerated. The impact of the Qualified Medicare Beneficiary and Specified Low-income Medicare Beneficiary programs on average costs is unclear, although one might expect the expense associated with cost sharing and Part B premiums, respectively, to be less than the cost of providing full Medicaid coverage for the disabled, thus holding down the increase in average costs.

Benefit Costs as a Percentage of GDP

The cost of benefits for the disability programs as a portion of gross domestic product (GDP) rose dramatically during the 1990s, increasing from 1.26 percent of GDP in 1990 to nearly 2 percent in 2001.

Chart 17. Cost of disability benefits as a percentage of gross domestic product, by type of benefit, 1970–2001
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Table equivalent for Chart 17. Cost of disability benefits as a percentage of gross domestic product, by type of benefit, 1970–2001
Year Medicaid
for
disabled a
SSI
adults
18–64
SSI
children b
Medicare
HI
Medicare
SMI
Disabled
widow(er)s
Disabled
adult
children
DI
children
DI
spouses
DI
workers
1970 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.02 0.04 0.02 0.24
1971 0 0 0 0 0 0.01 0.02 0.05 0.02 0.27
1972 0 0 0 0 0 0.01 0.03 0.05 0.02 0.29
1973 0 0 0 0.01 0 0.01 0.03 0.05 0.02 0.34
1974 0 0.12 0 0.04 0.02 0.01 0.03 0.06 0.02 0.38
1975 0.19 0.13 0 0.06 0.03 0.01 0.03 0.07 0.02 0.42
1976 0.21 0.13 0 0.07 0.04 0.01 0.03 0.07 0.02 0.45
1977 0.24 0.12 0 0.08 0.04 0.01 0.03 0.07 0.02 0.47
1978 0.24 0.13 0 0.08 0.05 0.01 0.03 0.07 0.02 0.45
1979 0.27 0.12 0 0.09 0.05 0.01 0.03 0.07 0.02 0.44
1980 0.27 0.12 0.01 0.10 0.06 0.01 0.04 0.07 0.02 0.46
1981 0.30 0.11 0.01 0.11 0.06 0.01 0.04 0.07 0.02 0.46
1982 0.32 0.11 0.02 0.12 0.07 0.01 0.04 0.06 0.02 0.46
1983 0.32 0.11 0.02 0.12 0.07 0.01 0.04 0.05 0.02 0.43
1984 0.30 0.12 0.02 0.12 0.06 0.01 0.04 0.04 0.01 0.40
1985 0.32 0.12 0.02 0.11 0.06 0.01 0.04 0.04 0.01 0.39
1986 0.33 0.12 0.02 0.11 0.07 0.01 0.04 0.04 0.01 0.39
1987 0.35 0.12 0.02 0.11 0.07 0.01 0.04 0.04 0.01 0.38
1988 0.36 0.12 0.02 0.11 0.07 0.01 0.04 0.04 0.01 0.38
1989 0.38 0.13 0.02 0.12 0.08 0.01 0.04 0.04 0.01 0.37
1990 0.42 0.14 0.02 0.12 0.08 0.01 0.04 0.04 0.01 0.38
1991 0.47 0.16 0.03 0.13 0.09 0.01 0.05 0.04 0.01 0.41
1992 0.54 0.18 0.05 0.14 0.09 0.01 0.05 0.04 0.01 0.44
1993 0.58 0.19 0.06 0.14 0.10 0.01 0.05 0.05 0.01 0.46
1994 0.60 0.19 0.06 0.16 0.10 0.01 0.05 0.05 0.01 0.48
1995 0.67 0.20 0.06 0.17 0.11 0.01 0.05 0.05 0.01 0.49
1996 0.67 0.20 0.06 0.17 0.12 0.01 0.05 0.05 0.01 0.51
1997 0.65 0.19 0.06 0.17 0.11 0.01 0.05 0.05 0.01 0.49
1998 0.69 0.19 0.06 0.15 0.12 0.01 0.05 0.05 0.01 0.50
1999 0.71 0.19 0.05 0.14 0.12 0.01 0.05 0.05 0 0.50
2000 0.74 0.18 0.05 0.14 0.12 0.01 0.05 0.05 0 0.51
2001 0.79 0.19 0.05 0.16 0.14 0.01 0.05 0.05 0 0.54
 
SOURCES: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Medicare & Medicaid Statistical Supplement, 2003, Tables 12 and 94 (fiscal year data), available at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MedicareMedicaidStatSupp/LT/list.asp; 2004 Annual Report of the Supplemental Security Income Program, Table IV.C1; Annual Statistical Supplement to the Social Security Bulletin, 2004, Tables 4.A6 and 5.A17; Bureau of Economic Analysis, gross domestic product.
NOTE: Medicaid data are for the fiscal year. All other data are for the calendar year.
a. Medicaid is for disabled persons, including those aged 65 or older.
b. Before 1980, SSI children were counted in the category "SSI adults 18–64."

Although earlier charts showed that benefit costs have increased dramatically, nearly doubling in real terms since 1990, it is important to view these benefits relative to the size of the economy. Chart 17 presents the major disability programs as a percentage of gross domestic product. Expenditures on cash and medical benefits for the disabled, as a percentage of GDP, increased 57 percent between 1990 and 2001, consuming 1.98 percent of GDP in 2001, up from 1.26 percent in 1990.

Although many of the expenditures have increased over time, the most dramatic growth is seen in Medicaid expenditures for the disabled. As shown earlier, Medicaid costs have increased because of a tripling of the number of disabled individuals receiving Medicaid since 1975 and a 175 percent increase in the average cost of Medicaid benefits during the same period.

Before implementation of SSI in 1974, the Aid to the Permanently and Totally Disabled and Aid to the Blind programs addressed the needs of the low-income population. These state-administered programs are not included in the chart for the period 1970–1974, so costs during that period are understated. Both programs were considerably smaller and less expensive than is SSI. In 1972, the two programs paid $1.4 billion in cash payments to 1.2 million recipients. After SSI was fully implemented in 1975, 1.9 million disabled recipients were receiving $3.3 billion in SSI payments.

International Expenditures on Disability Programs

As a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP), the costs of disability programs in the United States are considerably smaller than those of most other countries.

Chart 18. Cost of disability programs as a percentage of GDP
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Table equivalent for Chart 18. Cost of disability programs as a percentage of GDP
  Percent
Country 5.58
Norway 4.66
Sweden 4.64
Netherlands 4.51
Poland 3.78
Denmark 3.08
Germany 2.92
Austria 2.40
Switzerland 2.28
Spain 1.83
Italy 1.72
Belgium 1.67
France 1.54
United Kingdom 1.53
Portugal 1.44
Australia 1.40
United States 1.28
Canada 0.29
Korea 0.29
Mexico
Other
European Union 2.70
OECD members 2.42
Non European Union 2.07
 
SOURCE: Bernd Marin and Christopher Prinz, Facts and Figures on Disability Welfare: A Pictorial Portrait of an OECD Report (Vienna: European Centre for Social Welfare Policy and Research, 2003, 36).
NOTES: Source and year of data from the report vary by country; data are from a year between 1996 and 2000, depending on the country.
These figures include benefit costs for disability programs and employment-related programs for the disabled; they do not include health coverage.
EU = European Union; OECD = Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

It is interesting to compare the level of benefit costs for disability programs in the United States with those in other countries. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) recently released a report comparing the costs of disability programs across countries, from which international data in this book are drawn. The data show the percentage of GDP that is expended on all disability-related programs in each of the countries. Analyzing the OECD figures shows that the United States spent a lower percentage of its GDP on disability programs than did all other countries under study except Canada, Korea, and Mexico.4 Norway, Sweden, and the Netherlands spent three times as much on their disability programs as did the United States.

There are many reasons why the cost of the disability programs is lower in the United States. The definition of disability is very strict in the United States, which includes only persons who are unable to work for extended periods, whereas many countries offer temporary and partial disability benefits. Moreover, many European countries have more generous disability benefits than does the United States, and some countries have used the disability programs as early retirement programs, particularly when economic conditions are poor.

Disability Programs and Self-Reported Disability

The disability programs serve only a portion of the population self-reporting a disability. Although fewer than 9 million disabled persons received benefits from Social Security disability, SSI disability, or both in 2000, estimates of the disabled population vary between 11 million and 33 million, depending on the definition of disability.

Chart 19. Disability as self-reported by persons aged 16–64 compared with the size of the disability programs, 2000
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Table equivalent for Chart 19. Disability as self-reported by persons aged 16–64 compared with the size of the disability programs, 2000
Disability program Disability population (millions)
Self-reported disability
Census
Any disability 33.2
Work disability 21.3
CPS
Work disability 17.1
Severe work disability 11.3
Disabled beneficiaries a
Social Security
Worker 5.0
Disabled adult child 0.7
Disabled widow(er) 0.2
SSI
Adults 18–64 3.7
Children 16–17 0.1
DI, SSI, or both 8.7
 
SOURCES: Census Bureau data available at http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/disability/disability.html; Current Population Survey (CPS) data available at http://www.bls.census.gov/cps/cpsmain.htm; Annual Statistical Supplement to the Social Security Bulletin, 2001, Tables 5.A1, 7.A1, and 7.D1.
a. Data are for December 2000.

The disability programs served 8.7 million disabled persons aged 16–64 in 2000. The population self-reporting a disability ranged between 11 million and 33 million persons, depending on the definition and the survey.5 Using the definition yielding the smallest estimate of the disabled population—the definition of severe work disability in the Current Population Survey (CPS)—nearly a quarter of these persons were not on the disability rolls.6 This suggests that there may be additional potential for increases in the number of disability beneficiaries in the future. Estimates based on other, less stringent definitions of disability suggest that programs directed at temporary or partial disability could attract a large number of potential beneficiaries.

International Prevalence of Disability

The overall prevalence of disability in the United States is relatively low compared with prevalence in other countries. The prevalence of severe disability is also lower in the United States than it is in many other countries, although the differences in rates of severe disability across countries do not seem as large as the differences in overall prevalence rates.

Chart 20. Prevalence of moderate and severe disability as a percentage of the population aged 20–64
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Table equivalent for Chart 20. Prevalence of moderate and severe disability as a percentage of the population aged 20–64 (in percent)
Severity Severe Moderate Total
Country
Sweden 9.6 11.0 20.6
Portugal 7.8 11.2 19.0
Netherlands 6.1 12.7 18.8
Denmark 4.0 14.6 18.6
United Kingdom 5.2 13.0 18.2
Germany 4.8 13.3 18.1
Norway 6.4 10.3 16.7
Canada a a 16.1
France 6.3 9.5 15.8
Switzerland a a 14.6
Poland a a 14.5
Austria 3.4 9.6 13.0
Australia 4.1 8.7 12.8
Spain 4.4 6.9 11.3
Belgium 3.8 7.1 10.9
United States 3.4 7.3 10.7
Italy 2.2 4.9 7.1
Mexico a a 7.0
Korea 0.4 2.6 3.0
Other
European Union 6.2 9.4 15.6
OECD members 4.6 9.4 14.0
Non European Union 1.8 10.1 11.9
 
SOURCE: Bernd Marin and Christopher Prinz, Facts and Figures on Disability Welfare: A Pictorial Portrait of an OECD Report (Vienna: European Centre for Social Welfare Policy and Research, 2003, 31).
NOTES: Source and year of data from the OECD report vary by country; data are from a year between 1996 and 2000, depending on the country. The U.S. data reported by OECD are from wave 4 of the 1996 Survey of Income and Program Participation.
Several countries (Canada, Switzerland, Poland, and Mexico) did not report data separately for severe and moderate disability, only the total.
EU = European Union; OECD = Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

The overall prevalence of disability in the United States is relatively low compared with that in other countries, exceeding the prevalence in only Italy, Mexico, and Korea. The prevalence of severe disability is also lower in the United States than it is in many other countries, although the differences in rates of severe disability across countries do not seem as large as the differences in overall prevalence rates. Persons with a severe disability make up a greater portion of the disabled in the United States than they do in some of the countries with high disability prevalence rates (for example, Denmark and Germany). On the one hand, the lower rates of disability in the United States could suggest that the U.S. disability programs may be less at risk than are programs in other countries. On the other hand, if the prevalence of disability in the U.S. population were to begin to mirror that of other countries, U.S. disability programs could experience more growth in the future. The attractiveness of disability programs in some countries (for example, those in northern Europe) may actually influence the perception of disability and increase the number of people reporting disabilities or severe disabilities.

Notes

1. Social Security disability includes benefits paid from the DI trust fund to disabled workers and their dependents, as well as benefits paid from the OASI trust fund to disabled widow(er)s and some disabled adult children.

2. For a description and history of the SSI program, see the section on Program Descriptions and Legislative History of the Annual Statistical Supplement to the Social Security Bulletin. A specific discussion of state supplementation of SSI payments can be found under the heading "SSI: History of Provisions."

3. A large influx of awards (without retroactive payments) could be expected to reduce average cost because, on average, the new awards will collect only 6 months of benefits rather than 12 months for other beneficiaries, thus increasing the denominator (beneficiaries) more than the numerator (total payments). An influx of persons with large retroactive payments could alter this expectation and serve to increase the average annual cost.

4. OECD figures differ somewhat from those generated from SSA administrative data; however, the OECD approach is consistent across countries, and relative magnitudes should be correct.

5. The variability from one source to another in estimates of the percentage of the general population that reports being disabled is evident in the chart above. The Decennial Census of 2000 and the Current Population Survey collected data using a definition of work disability in 2000, yet one estimate was 25 percent higher than the other: 21.3 million vs. 17.1 million, respectively.

6. The Current Population Survey is a monthly survey conducted by the Census Bureau for the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the Department of Labor. The survey has been conducted for more than 50 years. Data on disability in the CPS come from the March Supplement to the survey. Additional CPS data on disability are provided in Chart 46.