Disability, Work and Cash Benefits

Jerry L. Mashaw, Yale University, Virginia P. Reno, National Academy of Social Insurance, Richard V. Burkhauser, Syracuse University, and Monroe Berkowitz, Rutgers University, Editors.

(The first chapter of this book is available in PDF format.)

This book examines the economic consequences of work disabilities, and public and private interventions that might enable disabled individuals to enter the work force for the first time, remain at work, or return to work. It stems from a conference organized by the Disability Policy Panel of the National Academy of Social Insurance.

Three groups of papers are presented. The first group examines ways that labor market changes, policy interventions and individual choices shape the work force. The next analyzes both public and private return to work policies for the work disabled and for those with a severely disabling condition. The final group focuses on the specific needs of the disabled that affect their work force participation, including access to health care, personal assistance and assistive technologies.

Work Disability and the Economic
and Policy Environment

Return ToWork Policy

5) Patterns of Return to Work and a Cohort of Disabled Worker Beneficiaries, by Martynas Ycas.
Ycas attempts to profile those on the disability benefit rolls who would be prime candidates for return to work. He provides evidence that workers over the age of 50 seem poor candidates for return to work intervention compared with younger workers. He also finds that, when results are controlled for age, reported health status appears to be the primary determinant of labor market participation.
6) The Effectiveness of Financial Work Incentives in DI and SSI: Lessons from Other Transfer Programs, by Hilary W. Hoynes and Robert Moffitt.
By looking at a number of non-disability transfer programs, the authors find that the offsetting effects of work incentives designed to lower the marginal tax rate on earnings to existing beneficiaries make standard work incentive provisions relatively ineffective in reducing program participation.
7) Lessons from the Vocational Rehabilitation Link for DI Beneficiaries, by Edward D. Berkowitz and David H. Dean.
The authors conclude that, due to political and objective factors, there is little evidence to suggest that existing rehabilitation policy can be or has been effective for the population requiring DI benefits.
8) Disability and Work: Lessons from the Private Sector, by H. Allan Hunt, Rochelle V. Habeck, Patricia D. Owens and David Vandergoot.
Through case studies on private sector interventions, the authors show that an aggressive approach to managing disability claims has significant payoffs in maintaining employees in their current jobs, or in transitioning employees to a different job with their current employer.
9) Quantitative Outcomes of the Transitional Employment Training Demonstration, by Aaron Prero.
Prero analyzes a transitional employment training demonstration program for mentally retarded adults sponsored by the Social Security Administration. That project showed a small decline in receipt of SSI, but the dollar savings from that decline was much less than the costs of the training provided. However, earnings among the group studied increased, suggesting positive outcomes by measures other than SSI program savings.
10) The Role of General Employment and Training Programs for Persons with Disabilities, by Burt Barnow.
Barnow reviews a group of studies designed to improve work outcomes for persons with disabilities. He finds very modest effects from any of these interventions, and concludes that there appears to be no general strategy for assessing the employment and training needs of that population.
11) Improving the Return to Work of Social Security Disability Beneficiaries, by Monroe Berkowitz.
Espousing that radical changes to current disability policy are needed, Berkowitz proposes a two-stage system in which the SSA's rehabilitation programs are turned over to the private sector. These providers would be compensated only if beneficiaries return to work and remain employed.

The Role of Health Care and In-Kind Benefits in Promoting Work

12) People with Disabilities: Access to Health Care and Related Benefits, by Robert B. Friedland and Alison Evans.
The authors show that persons with a disability face substantial barriers to obtaining health insurance in private markets. This encourages participation in public programs that include relatively comprehensive health care coverage, either Medicaid or Medicare.
13) Health Care, Personal Assistance and Assistive Technology: Keys to Independence, by Andrew I. Batavia.
Batavia proposes decoupling in-kind benefits, through cash equivalents, such as vouchers or refundable tax credits. Thus receipt of such benefits would not be tied to eligibility for income support, and cash equivalents would be phased out as incomes rose.

"Many chapters offer innovative and undoubtedly controversial policy recommendations, which, if they are not implemented, are likely to be debated for years to come. Given the current public debate, (this) is a timely publication that one hopes will be closely read by policy makers. It should be read by all who are interested in public policy on work disability." ILR Review

Shopping Cart Operations

For MasterCard/Visa holders, accumulate titles in the Shopping Cart and submit your order electronically.

Shopping Cart Operations

• Add this book to cart
• Review and change cart contents

• Secure checkout