Record 10,978,040 0n Disability; 'Disability' Would Be 8th Most Populous State

CNSNews has;
Record 10,978,040 0n Disability; 'Disability' Would Be 8th Most Populous State

May 29, 2013 - 9:52 AM

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By Terence P. Jeffrey

(CNSNews.com) - The total number of people in the United States now receiving federal disability benefits hit a record 10,978,040 in May, up from 10,962,532 million in April, according to newly released datafrom the Social Security Administration.

The 10,978,040 disability beneficiaries in the United States now exceed the population of all but seven states. For example, there are more Americans collecting disability today than there are people living in Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, New Jersey or Virginia.

The record 10,978,040 total disability beneficiaries in May, included a record 8,877,921 disabled workers (up from 8,865,586 in April), a record 1,939,687 children of disabled workers (up from 1,936,236 in April), and 160,432 spouses of disabled workers.

May was the 196th straight month that the number of American workers collecting federal disability payments increased. The last time the number of Americans collecting disability decreased was in January 1997. That month the number of workers taking disability dropped by 249 people—from 4,385,623 in December 1996 to 4,385,374 in January 1997.

As the overall number of American workers collecting disability has increased, the ratio of full-time workers to disability-collecting workers has decreased.

In December 1968, 1,295,428 American workers collected disability and, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 65,630,000 worked full-time. Thus, there were about 51 full-time workers for each worker collecting disability. In May 2013, with a record 8,877,921 American workers collecting disability and 116,053,000 working full-time, there were only 13 Americans working full-time for each worker on disability.

According to the latest Census Bureau population estimates, if disability were a state in the union it would rank eighth in population, coming in after Ohio but ahead of Georgia:

1. California 38,041,430

2. Texas 26,059,203

3. New York 19,570,261

4. Florida 19,317,568

5. Illinois 12,875,255

6. Pennsylvania 12,763,536

7. Ohio 11,544,225

8. Disability 10,978,040

9. Georgia 9,919,945

Thank You CNS and Mr Jeffrey

Psychiatry's Raid On America's SSI & SSDI

So, We'll hire a whole bunch MORE Psychiatric Psychiatrists to sell even MORE Disabling Opinions, . . . and let a few MORE protectionist Trade Guilds buy illegal 'Get Your Incurable Record Cleaned Up by a Diversion Program' FREE Cards for Their members.

California Diversion Programs (7)

Because that's how a Centrally Planned Economy Runs. 

Every Month 14 Million Americans Collecting Disability Check From The Government, Costs More Than Welfare and Food Stamps Combined

Weaselzippers has; 

Every Month 14 Million Americans Collecting Disability Check From The Government, Costs More Than Welfare and Food Stamps Combined

The SSDI system is so rife with fraud and abuse it’s sickening, and we get stuck with the bill.

Via NPR:

In the past three decades, the number of Americans who are on disability has skyrocketed. The rise has come even as medical advances have allowed many more people to remain on the job, and new laws have banned workplace discrimination against the disabled. Every month, 14 million people now get a disability check from the government.

The federal government spends more money each year on cash payments for disabled former workers than it spends on food stamps and welfare combined. Yet people relying on disability payments are often overlooked in discussions of the social safety net. People on federal disability do not work. Yet because they are not technically part of the labor force, they are not counted among the unemployed.

In other words, people on disability don’t show up in any of the places we usually look to see how the economy is doing. But the story of these programs — who goes on them, and why, and what happens after that — is, to a large extent, the story of the U.S. economy. It’s the story not only of an aging workforce, but also of a hidden, increasingly expensive safety net.
Keep reading…

Here’s one of countless examples:

(WSJ) — The Social Security Administration’s inspector general is investigating a case of potentially widespread disability fraud in Puerto Rico, two people familiar with the matter said, part of the agency’s stepped-up efforts to tackle abuses in the financially struggling program.

The inspector general, Patrick O’Carroll, told an audience at an Aug. 30 disability-examiners conference that the investigation was tied to a pharmaceutical plant that recently closed in Puerto Rico, with 300 employees losing their jobs.

Shortly after the layoff, 290 of the 300 former employees applied for Social Security disability benefits and they all used the same doctor, who lived far from the plant, Mr. O’Carroll told the audience. Mr. O’Carroll didn’t identify the doctor, whose identity couldn’t be learned.
Jonathan Lasher, an assistant inspector general at the agency, wouldn’t comment on the case, but said, “The office of the inspector general is continuing to pursue any number of fraud allegations in Puerto Rico related to the Social Security disability program.”

Thanks Zip, NPR, & WSJ.

And we Start cleaning up this Nation Wrecking SSDI Back Breaker Where? 

Psychiatry: Disability, Chronic Disease, and Death, . . . without anything to sell but 'Hope'.

1. Psychiatry's Raid On America's SSI & SSDI

2. Obamanomics: SSDI Cripples Hits New High

3. 'Mental Health' in San Francisco: Link Fest

   
   

CBO: ObamaCare May Load SSDI Even Further

CNSNews has;

CBO: Obamacare May Boost Disability Insurance Rolls

March 15, 2013

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By Susan Jones

(CNSNews.com) - In the past four decades, the number of people receiving benefits from the Social Security Disability Insurance (DI) program has increased nearly sixfold, rising from 1.5 million in 1970 to 8.8 million in 2012, the Congressional Budget Office says.

On Thursday, Joyce Manchester, a chief analyst with the Congressional budget Office, told a House subcommittee that the number of people seeking DI benefits is expected to continue rising, and she said the Affordable Care Act "is likely to influence application rates" although it's "difficult to predict" what the impact will be.

"Looking ahead, the Affordable Care Act is likely to influence application rates for the DI program, but whether it will result in more or fewer beneficiaries is difficult to predict," Manchester told the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Security.

She explained that people getting disability benefits receive health coverage under Medicare, regardless of their age, but only after a 24-month waiting period.

Applications for disability insurance could increase under Obamacare, as people gain immediate access to subsidized health insurance through state exchanges, with no exclusions for pre-existing conditions. In that case, they could easily leave their employer-provided insurance and wait two years for Medicare benefits to kick in under the disability program.

"Those considerations will tend to increase applications to the DI program," Manchester said.

But on the other hand, Obamacare, with its insurance subsidies and expansion of Medicaid, will make it easier for many people with health problems to buy their own insurance. They wouldn't need the Medicare coverage that eventually is provided under the DI program. "That change will tend to reduce applications to the DI program," Manchester said.

Once they have been awarded benefits, only a very small percentage of DI participants permanently leave the program to return to the workforce, Manchester said in her statement to the committee.

The decision to apply for disability insurance benefits is strongly affected by how easy it is to qualify for benefits; the state of the job market; and how generous the disability benefits are compared with one's salary. "Access to health insurance and the cost of obtaining it are additional factors that can affect an individual's decision to apply for DI benefits," Manchester added.

"When jobs are plentiful, some people who could qualify for the DI program may choose instead to work. Conversely, when jobs are scarce, such as in economic downturns, some people with disabilities may find that their employment opportunities are especially limited, and they will instead choose to apply for DI benefits. Indeed, in the aftermath of the recent severe recession, applications for DI benefits reached a historic high, exceeding 2.9 million in calendar year 2010."

DI benefits are paid from the Disability Insurance Trust Fund, which is financed primarily by the Social Security payroll tax.

Manchester said the DI program's rapid expansion and the projected gap between its spending and dedicated revenues in the future raise questions about the financial sustainability of the program.

Since 2009, the program has been paying out more in annual benefits than it receives in taxes and in interest on the balances in its trust fund. CBO projects that the DI trust fund will be exhausted in 2016, nearly 20 years before the projected exhaustion of the trust fund for the Social Security retirement program.

Total DI expenditures were $135 billion in 2012 and CBO projects those expenditures will rise to $213 billion in 2023 when the number of beneficiaries will grow to 12.3 million.

Thursday's hearing focused on various ways to fix the DI program.

Also See:First Term: Americans Collecting Disability Increased 1,385,418—Now 1 for Each 13 Full-Time Workers
Thank You CNS and Ms Jones

Psychiatry's Raid On America's SSI & SSDI

Obamanomics: SSDI Cripples Hits New High