Health Insurance Policy and the Social Security Disability Insurance Population

Brett Alfrey, Georgia State University

Individuals receiving benefits from the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program have both increased health needs but potentially more limited health insurance options. Although SSDI beneficiaries qualify for Medicare after receiving 24 months’ worth of benefit payments, their ability to procure health insurance during the waiting period is questionable, and before the Medicare Part D expansion, their ability to acquire prescription drug insurance coverage after the waiting period was also questionable. I investigate the effects of health insurance policy on the health insurance access and outcomes for this understudied group.