Losing SSI at 18 years old may affect access to medical services – Retirement Research Center
Families with over 1 million children and adolescents with physical and intellectual disabilities are receiving supplemental safety income or SSI. However, a 1996 reform made it difficult for children to maintain these benefits when they turn 18.
The 18-year-old doesn’t meet the tougher eligibility requirements, not only will it lose SSI’s monthly cash payments, but it may also bring in the usual Medicaid health insurance. From 20% to half of 18-year-olds, anyone loses SSI, depending on the status of their residence.
New research by Priyanka Anand of George Mason University shows that fewer diagnoses than those who turned 18 and maintained benefits before the reform, and fewer diagnoses were found in adults who might have lost their benefits.
However, fewer diagnoses do not necessarily indicate better health. Instead, fewer diagnoses “can reflect higher prevalence of untreated conditions due to lack of access to insurance and health care,” she concluded from a series of analyses.
The August 1996 reform required 18-year-olds to undergo a medical review to see if they meet stricter adult standards, making disability difficult or impossible for them to work. Children under the age of 18 can only be eligible for SSI based on severe physical or mental disability, which can lead to lasting functional limitations.
The diagnosis of decline for adults most likely to lose SSI (and possibly Medicaid) is physical and psychological: hypertension, diabetes, depression, and anxiety.
Depression is an example of how Anand summarizes different analyses to draw conclusions. She was unable to lose SSI at the age of 18 and depression as an older person, and she studied whether the reduction in depression was concentrated among uninsured people. She found that this was actually a case, with fewer diagnoses of depression without insurance.
The long-term impact of more difficult standards may be big, she said. Losing SSI at 18 years of age “has a wide range of impacts on the long-term well-being of children's SSI beneficiaries.”
Read this study Written by Priyanka Anand, see “The Impact of Losing Child Disability Benefits on Health Results”.
The research reported in this article was conducted based on grants from the U.S. Social Security Agency (SSA) funded by a part of the Retirement and Disability Research Alliance. The opinions and conclusions expressed are merely the opinions of the author and do not represent the opinions or policies of the SSA or any agency of the federal government. Neither the U.S. Government or any of its agencies, nor any of its employees, has any legal liability or liability for the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of the contents of this report. References herein to any particular commercial product, process or service, by trademark, trademark, manufacturer or otherwise, do not necessarily constitute or imply the endorsement, advice or preference of the U.S. Government or any of its institutions.
