The Impact of Losing Child Disability Benefits on Health Outcomes

Many youth with disabilities rely on Supplemental Security Income (SSI) as an important source of income for their families, but they must go through a redetermination process at age 18 if they are to continue receiving those benefits into adulthood.  This paper uses data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) to examine the impact of losing child SSI benefits upon turning 18 years old on health outcomes.  I compare the physical and mental health outcomes of those who turned 18 just after August 1996 with those who turned 18 just before, given that the 1996 welfare reform increased the strictness of medical reviews for SSI beneficiaries who turned 18 after August 1996.

The paper found that:

• The results show that those who are likely to lose their SSI benefits at age 18 are less likely to be diagnosed with depression, anxiety, and chronic physical health conditions such as hypertension and diabetes.
• The lower diagnoses rates after losing child SSI benefits likely reflects a higher prevalence of untreated conditions due to lack of access to insurance and healthcare.

The policy implications of the findings are:

• It is important to consider the long-term health impacts of losing SSI at age 18 when considering future policy changes to SSI eligibility.
• The health impacts of losing SSI benefits at age 18 may also shed light on the implications of losing access to other safety net programs, such as Medicaid, which many recipients lost in 2023 following the end of the public health emergency.