The Extra Costs Associated With Living With a Disability in the United States

2021 ◽  
pp. 104420732110435
Author(s):  
Zachary A. Morris ◽  
Stephen V. McGarity ◽  
Nanette Goodman ◽  
Asghar Zaidi

People with disabilities encounter many financial expenses that those without disabilities do not incur. In this article, we provide estimates of the extra costs associated with living with a disability in the United States. Drawing on four nationally representative surveys, we estimate that a household containing an adult with a work disability requires, on average, 29% more income (or an additional $18,322 a year for a household at the median income level) to obtain the same standard of living as a comparable household without a member with a disability. Single adults with disabilities are estimated to have higher costs than those with disabilities who are married, and adults with cognitive impairments are estimated to have higher costs compared to those with other kinds of impairments. We further calculate the federal poverty rate for households that include adults with disabilities adjusted for the direct additional costs of disability. The rate rises from 24% to 35% after adjusting for the extra costs of disability, which would result in an estimated 2.2 million more people with disabilities counted as poor. This suggests that the official poverty measure in the United States substantially underestimates the degree of deprivation experienced by people with disabilities.

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zachary Parolin

The household income data used most frequently to estimate poverty rates in the United States substantially underreports the value of means-tested transfers. This paper investigates how underreporting affects estimates of the incidence and composition of poverty in the U.S. from 2013 to 2015. Specifically, I apply benefit adjustments for the underreporting of three social transfers to the Current Population Survey (CPS ASEC) to provide more accurate estimates of poverty rates. Diagnostic checks indicate that the imputed benefit adjustments are imperfect, but do provide a more accurate representation of household income than the uncorrected CPS ASEC data. In 2015, the benefit adjustments add more than $30 billion of income transfers to the CPS ASEC, primarily concentrated among low-income households with children. I test the effects of the benefit corrections on two conceptualizations of poverty: the U.S. Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) and a relative measure of poverty set at 50 percent of federal median income. In 2015, the SPM poverty rate for the total population falls from 14.3 to 12.7 percent, a 1.6 percentage point (11 percent) decline, after adjusting for underreporting. Among children, the SPM poverty rate falls from 16.1 to 12.8 percent, a 3.3 percentage point (20 percent) decline. The percent-of-median poverty rate experiences similar declines after applying the benefit imputations. The findings suggest that the unadjusted CPS ASEC data meaningfully overestimates the incidence of poverty in the U.S., particularly among households with children. Documentation for applying the benefit corrections to the CPS ASEC is provided for improved estimates in future poverty research.


1998 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert K Triest

The official U.S. government figures showed an increase in the poverty rate from 11.1 percent in 1973 to 13.8 percent in 1995. However, some maintain that this upward trend is due to defects in the official poverty measure. This paper analyzes alternative measures of poverty and concludes that nearly all reasonable alternatives show similar trends in poverty over the recent past. There has been an increase in the percentage of people in the United States who are poor, although one can argue that the official Census figures either understate or somewhat overstate the increase.


Author(s):  
Melissa A. Pierce

In countries other than the United States, the study and practice of speech-language pathology is little known or nonexistent. Recognition of professionals in the field is minimal. Speech-language pathologists in countries where speech-language pathology is a widely recognized and respected profession often seek to share their expertise in places where little support is available for individuals with communication disorders. The Peace Corps offers a unique, long-term volunteer opportunity to people with a variety of backgrounds, including speech-language pathologists. Though Peace Corps programs do not specifically focus on speech-language pathology, many are easily adapted to the profession because they support populations of people with disabilities. This article describes how the needs of local children with communication disorders are readily addressed by a Special Education Peace Corps volunteer.


Kidney Cancer ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Lauren E. Wilson ◽  
Lisa Spees ◽  
Jessica Pritchard ◽  
Melissa A. Greiner ◽  
Charles D. Scales ◽  
...  

Background: Substantial racial and socioeconomic disparities in metastatic RCC (mRCC) have persisted following the introduction of targeted oral anticancer agents (OAAs). The relationship between patient characteristics and OAA access and costs that may underlie persistent disparities in mRCC outcomes have not been examined in a nationally representative patient population. Methods: Retrospective SEER-Medicare analysis of patients diagnosed with mRCC between 2007–2015 over age 65 with Medicare part D prescription drug coverage. Associations between patient characteristics, OAA receipt, and associated costs were analyzed in the 12 months following mRCC diagnosis and adjusted to 2015 dollars. Results: 2,792 patients met inclusion criteria, of which 32.4%received an OAA. Most patients received sunitinib (57%) or pazopanib (28%) as their first oral therapy. Receipt of OAA did not differ by race/ethnicity or socioeconomic indicators. Patients of advanced age (>  80 years), unmarried patients, and patients residing in the Southern US were less likely to receive OAAs. The mean inflation-adjusted 30-day cost to Medicare of a patient’s first OAA prescription nearly doubled from $3864 in 2007 to $7482 in 2015, while patient out-of-pocket cost decreased from $2409 to $1477. Conclusion: Race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status were not associated with decreased OAA receipt in patients with mRCC; however, residing in the Southern United States was, as was marital status. Surprisingly, the cost to Medicare of an initial OAA prescription nearly doubled from 2007 to 2015, while patient out-of-pocket costs decreased substantially. Shifts in OAA costs may have significant economic implications in the era of personalized medicine.


2021 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 194-205
Author(s):  
Allison Dunatchik ◽  
Kathleen Gerson ◽  
Jennifer Glass ◽  
Jerry A. Jacobs ◽  
Haley Stritzel

We examine how the shift to remote work altered responsibilities for domestic labor among partnered couples and single parents. The study draws on data from a nationally representative survey of 2,200 US adults, including 478 partnered parents and 151 single parents, in April 2020. The closing of schools and child care centers significantly increased demands on working parents in the United States, and in many circumstances reinforced an unequal domestic division of labor.


2020 ◽  
pp. 002242942098252
Author(s):  
Justin J. West

The purpose of this study was to evaluate music teacher professional development (PD) practice and policy in the United States between 1993 and 2012. Using data from the nationally representative Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) spanning these 20 years, I examined music teacher PD participation by topic, intensity, relevance, and format; music teachers’ top PD priorities; and the reach of certain PD-supportive policies. I assessed these descriptive results against a set of broadly agreed-on criteria for “effective” PD: content specificity, relevance, voluntariness/autonomy, social interaction, and sustained duration. Findings revealed a mixed record. Commendable improvements in content-specific PD access were undercut by deficiencies in social interaction, voluntariness/autonomy, sustained duration, and relevance. School policy, as reported by teachers, was grossly inadequate, with only one of the nine PD-supportive measures appearing on SASS reaching a majority of teachers in any given survey year. Implications for policy, practice, and scholarship are presented.


2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 436-451
Author(s):  
Yilang Peng

Applications in artificial intelligence such as self-driving cars may profoundly transform our society, yet emerging technologies are frequently faced with suspicion or even hostility. Meanwhile, public opinions about scientific issues are increasingly polarized along the ideological line. By analyzing a nationally representative panel in the United States, we reveal an emerging ideological divide in public reactions to self-driving cars. Compared with liberals and Democrats, conservatives and Republicans express more concern about autonomous vehicles and more support for restrictively regulating autonomous vehicles. This ideological gap is largely driven by social conservatism. Moreover, both familiarity with driverless vehicles and scientific literacy reduce respondents’ concerns over driverless vehicles and support for regulation policies. Still, the effects of familiarity and scientific literacy are weaker among social conservatives, indicating that people may assimilate new information in a biased manner that promotes their worldviews.


2013 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 82-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geraldine Pierre ◽  
Roland J. Thorpe ◽  
Gniesha Y. Dinwiddie ◽  
Darrell J. Gaskin

This article sought to determine whether racial disparities exist in psychotropic drug use and expenditures in a nationally representative sample of men in the United States. Data were extracted from the 2000-2009 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, a longitudinal survey that covers the U.S. civilian noninstitutionalized population. Full-Year Consolidated, Medical Conditions, and Prescribed Medicines data files were merged across 10 years of data. The sample of interest was limited to adult males aged 18 to 64 years, who reported their race as White, Black, Hispanic, or Asian. This study employed a pooled cross-sectional design and a two-part probit generalized linear model for analyses. Minority men reported a lower probability of psychotropic drug use (Black = −4.3%, 95% confidence interval [CI] = [−5.5, −3.0]; Hispanic = −3.8%, 95% CI = [−5.1, −2.6]; Asian = −4.5%, 95% CI = [−6.2, −2.7]) compared with White men. After controlling for demographic, socioeconomic, and health status variables, there were no statistically significant race differences in drug expenditures. Consistent with previous literature, racial and ethnic disparities in the use of psychotropic drugs present problems of access to mental health care and services.


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