Proposed Trump administration changes to disability insurance will hurt rural residents, researchers write - Entrepreneur Generations

"Changes to the Social Security Disability Insurance program proposed in January by the Trump administration could make it harder for over 8 million Americans with disabilities to maintain federal benefits. That’s particularly true for those in rural communities, where we have worked and studied for the past 35 years," Lillie Greiman and Catherine Ipsen write for The Conversation.

Almost 8.4 million people receive an average of $1,200 a month in Social Security Disability Benefits. Recipients are unable to hold a job because of a mental or physical impairment, and must undergo periodic reviews to prove that they're still unable to work. Reviewers currently classify recipients into one of three groups: Medical Improvement Expected, Medical Improvement Possible, and Medical Improvement Not Expected. Recipients deemed more likely to improve receive more frequent reviews, Greiman and Ipsen write.

However, the Trump administration is proposing a fourth category called Medical Improvement Likely. About 1 million people now categorized as Medical Improvement Possible would probably move to this new category and get more frequent reviews. "The goal of these proposed changes is to reduce overall benefits costs to the government. The Federal Register indicates that the additional reviews would cost $1.8 billion to administer while saving $2 billion in terminated benefits, for an overall savings of $200 million," Greiman and Ipsen write. "These proposed changes are based on research from the Office of Research, Demonstration and Employment Support showing that, after losing benefits based on a review, 70% of people had some earnings within the next five years. However, this research also shows that a majority continue to live below the poverty line."

Adding the fourth category will disproportionately affect rural residents, Greiman and Ipsen write. In 2018 the Social Security Administration terminated benefits for nearly 200,000 disability recipients.

from The Rural Blog https://ift.tt/2w1kLFa Proposed Trump administration changes to disability insurance will hurt rural residents, researchers write - Entrepreneur Generations

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