National Beneficiary Survey: Disability Statistics, 2015

Health

Table 4. Health status, by program and employment status (in percent)
Characteristic All beneficiaries DI-only beneficiaries Concurrent program beneficiaries SSI-only beneficiaries All employed beneficiaries
Number (unweighted) 4,062 1,666 833 1,563 445
Number (weighted) 12,896,735 7,347,758 1,944,622 3,604,355 1,064,064
Percentage (weighted) 100.0 57.0 15.1 28.0 8.3
Self-reported reason for limitation a
Musculoskeletal disorder 42.1 49.2 38.5 29.5 22.3
Psychiatric disorder 35.4 30.0 43.4 42.0 35.8
Disease of the circulatory system 20.6 24.1 17.1 15.4 10.1
Endocrine or nutritional disorder 15.8 15.8 18.3 14.7 14.7
Disease of the nervous system 17.0 19.1 16.3 13.0 17.1
Injury or poisoning 14.9 16.6 14.9 11.4 11.3
Disease of the respiratory system 11.1 10.6 10.5 12.7 6.4
Sensory disorder 8.1 7.9 9.0 8.1 4.9
Intellectual disability 5.2 2.6 10.7 7.5 11.3
Infectious or parasitic disease 5.8 5.8 5.7 5.9 5.3
HIV/AIDS 1.3 1.3 0.5 1.6 1.4
Neoplasm 5.2 6.6 4.0 3.2 8.3
Blood or blood-forming disease 1.4 1.2 2.3 1.4 0.9
Disease of the digestive system 6.3 6.3 7.1 6.0 6.2
Disease of the genitourinary system 3.1 2.8 4.8 2.8 2.1
Disease of the skin or subcutaneous tissue 0.9 1.0 0.6 0.9 1.4
Congenital anomaly 3.6 2.7 4.5 4.8 6.9
Other 16.8 14.5 20.6 19.3 16.1
Number of conditions causing limitation
0 8.2 5.5 9.7 12.9 20.6
1 25.3 25.6 21.9 26.4 22.3
2 32.3 34.2 28.0 30.7 27.9
3 19.5 20.2 22.7 16.4 15.5
4 or more 14.8 14.6 17.6 13.7 13.6
Drug or alcohol abuse in the past 12 months 7.0 6.5 8.8 6.9 7.1
Age at disability onset
Under 18 21.1 10.3 33.6 36.5 40.4
18–24 9.5 6.5 15.3 12.5 12.2
25–39 23.1 23.1 20.4 24.6 15.2
40–54 34.5 43.4 23.3 22.5 28.0
55 or older 11.7 16.6 7.3 4.0 4.3
General health
Excellent 4.0 1.9 5.1 7.6 12.1
Very good 6.1 5.6 7.0 6.6 14.5
Good 17.7 15.6 21.3 20.2 30.0
Fair 31.8 32.9 29.3 30.9 26.0
Poor 28.6 31.0 28.4 23.8 14.5
Very poor 11.8 13.0 8.9 10.9 3.0
Current health compared to last year
Much better 4.2 2.8 5.6 6.4 9.8
Somewhat better 11.5 10.6 12.3 12.8 16.4
About the same 43.4 41.7 44.5 46.3 53.2
Somewhat worse 28.2 31.2 25.9 23.4 16.1
Much worse 12.7 13.6 11.8 11.2 4.4
Body mass index
Less than 18.5 (underweight) 2.3 1.3 3.2 3.8 1.1
18.5–24.9 (normal weight) 21.8 20.0 22.4 25.4 22.9
25.0–29.9 (overweight) 27.8 29.6 24.4 26.0 31.8
30 or more (obese) 48.1 49.2 50.0 44.8 44.2
NOTE: HIV/AIDS = human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.
a. Multiple responses possible.
Table 5. Difficulty with specific activities, by program and employment status (in percent)
Difficulty type All beneficiaries DI-only beneficiaries Concurrent program beneficiaries SSI-only beneficiaries All employed beneficiaries
Number (unweighted) 4,062 1,666 833 1,563 445
Number (weighted) 12,896,735 7,347,758 1,944,622 3,604,355 1,064,064
Percentage (weighted) 100.0 57.0 15.1 28.0 8.3
Activities of daily living (ADL) a
Getting into or out of bed 35.7 39.1 35.6 28.6 23.1
Bathing or dressing 28.0 27.2 28.7 29.3 16.0
Getting around inside the house 20.7 23.2 18.1 17.1 8.3
Eating 14.8 13.3 19.1 15.6 6.8
None of the above 46.4 44.3 48.7 49.5 64.7
Instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) a
Getting around outside of the home 52.3 48.9 59.1 55.5 37.3
Shopping for personal items 33.0 30.3 33.5 38.1 28.0
Preparing meals 35.0 32.0 36.5 40.4 29.6
None of the above 39.2 42.1 34.1 36.1 53.9
Functional activities a
Walking or climbing stairs, standing for one hour, stooping, crouching, and/or kneeling 83.7 89.4 79.6 74.3 66.3
Grasping, reaching, and/or lifting 10 pounds 71.4 75.6 66.9 65.4 54.9
Speaking, hearing, and/or seeing 45.6 42.4 48.0 50.7 34.2
Coping with stress 56.7 53.4 62.7 60.3 46.2
Concentrating 67.3 64.8 68.6 71.7 60.8
Getting along with others 29.3 24.2 39.8 33.8 28.3
Number of ADL or IADL difficulties
0 24.5 24.2 22.7 26.1 37.0
1 21.1 23.2 18.9 18.1 21.4
2 16.2 17.3 16.9 13.7 16.9
3 12.3 10.8 14.1 14.2 12.9
4 11.0 9.1 12.6 13.9 6.4
5 6.4 6.8 6.6 5.6 2.8
6 6.0 6.4 4.6 5.7 2.6
7 2.5 2.1 3.5 2.7 0.0
a. Multiple responses possible.
Table 6. Health insurance status and sources, by program and employment status (in percent)
Characteristic All beneficiaries DI-only beneficiaries Concurrent program beneficiaries SSI-only beneficiaries All employed beneficiaries
  All beneficiaries
Number (unweighted) 4,062 1,666 833 1,563 445
Number (weighted) 12,896,735 7,347,758 1,944,622 3,604,355 1,064,064
Percentage (weighted) 100.0 57.0 15.1 28.0 8.3
Insured at interview
Yes 96.4 97.9 95.7 93.7 95.7
No 2.4 1.1 2.9 4.9 2.6
Unknown 1.2 1.0 1.4 1.4 1.7
Health insurance source at interview a
Medicaid or Medicare 90.9 90.7 95.0 89.2 84.6
Private 19.1 28.7 5.6 6.8 21.5
Other 6.4 9.3 2.5 2.5 3.6
  Beneficiaries with private insurance
Number (unweighted) 597 375 45 177 101
Number (weighted) 2,463,067 2,110,434 108,420 244,213 228,596
Percentage (weighted) 19.1 28.7 5.6 6.8 21.5
Private insurance source
Through own employment 18.3 19.7 10.2 9.8 35.4
Through spouse 42.2 41.1 23.7 60.5 36.3
Self or family purchased 29.6 30.5 45.2 15.5 16.6
Other 9.2 8.5 16.6 11.4 11.7
Unknown 0.7 0.2 4.2 2.8 0.0
a. Multiple responses possible.
Table 7. Health status, by impairment (in percent)
Characteristic All beneficiaries Beneficiaries reporting—
Musculoskeletal impairments Mental impairments Intellectual disability
Number (unweighted) 4,062 1,200 1,659 380
Number (weighted) 12,896,735 5,427,024 4,562,015 668,186
Percentage (weighted) 100.0 42.1 35.4 5.2
Self-reported reason for limitation a
Musculoskeletal disorder 42.1 100.0 42.6 22.0
Psychiatric disorder 35.4 35.8 100.0 29.9
Disease of the circulatory system 20.6 20.2 16.0 7.7
Endocrine or nutritional disorder 15.8 16.1 16.4 10.7
Disease of the nervous system 17.0 16.7 12.9 16.1
Injury or poisoning 14.9 16.9 13.1 9.5
Disease of the respiratory system 11.1 11.8 10.8 4.7
Sensory disorder 8.1 6.6 5.2 9.4
Intellectual disability 5.2 2.7 4.4 100.0
Infectious or parasitic disease 5.8 6.7 4.1 7.9
HIV/AIDS 1.3 1.0 1.0 (X)
Neoplasm 5.2 5.6 3.2 3.6
Blood or blood-forming disease 1.4 1.3 0.9 0.0
Disease of the digestive system 6.3 7.1 6.9 3.6
Disease of the genitourinary system 3.1 2.8 1.8 4.0
Disease of the skin or subcutaneous tissue 0.9 1.3 1.0 0.6
Congenital anomaly 3.6 2.1 2.2 9.0
Other 16.8 18.6 18.0 20.3
Number of conditions causing limitation
0 8.2 . . . . . . . . .
1 25.3 13.9 19.2 19.8
2 32.3 35.1 33.8 32.8
3 19.5 27.8 25.1 27.3
4 or more 14.8 23.3 21.9 20.1
Drug or alcohol abuse in the past 12 months 7.0 6.3 12.2 4.9
Age at disability onset
Under 18 21.1 9.1 22.4 79.6
18–24 9.5 7.4 13.5 10.6
25–39 23.1 25.9 27.5 7.8
40–54 34.5 45.0 29.7 (X)
55 or older 11.7 12.7 7.0 (X)
General health
Excellent 4.0 1.0 3.3 10.7
Very good 6.1 2.0 4.6 15.8
Good 17.7 12.0 16.7 26.9
Fair 31.8 34.1 31.3 25.7
Poor 28.6 35.2 29.7 18.9
Very poor 11.8 15.7 14.5 2.0
NOTES: HIV/AIDS = human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome; (X) = suppressed to avoid disclosing information about particular individuals; . . . = not applicable.
a. Multiple responses possible.
Table 8. Health status, by age (in percent)
Characteristic All beneficiaries Under 30 30–49 50 or older
Number (unweighted) 4,062 1,049 2,146 867
Number (weighted) 12,896,735 1,212,222 3,379,015 8,305,498
Percentage (weighted) 100.0 9.4 26.2 64.4
Self-reported reason for limitation a
Musculoskeletal disorder 42.1 10.5 32.1 50.8
Psychiatric disorder 35.4 40.4 43.9 31.2
Disease of the circulatory system 20.6 3.4 13.9 25.9
Endocrine or nutritional disorder 15.8 4.4 13.2 18.6
Disease of the nervous system 17.0 15.1 20.7 15.7
Injury or poisoning 14.9 5.4 12.9 17.1
Disease of the respiratory system 11.1 3.8 8.0 13.5
Sensory disorder 8.1 8.2 7.6 8.3
Intellectual disability 5.2 15.4 8.6 2.3
Infectious or parasitic disease 5.8 3.9 4.5 6.6
HIV/AIDS 1.3 0.4 1.4 1.4
Neoplasm 5.2 1.8 3.5 6.5
Blood or blood-forming disease 1.4 1.3 1.2 1.5
Disease of the digestive system 6.3 1.8 4.6 7.7
Disease of the genitourinary system 3.1 1.8 2.9 3.3
Disease of the skin or subcutaneous tissue 0.9 0.3 1.0 0.9
Congenital anomaly 3.6 9.5 4.5 2.3
Other 16.8 18.4 18.3 15.9
Number of conditions causing limitation
0 8.2 20.7 9.3 5.9
1 25.3 35.9 29.5 22.0
2 32.3 26.7 30.6 33.8
3 19.5 11.9 18.3 21.1
4 or more 14.8 4.7 12.4 17.2
Drug or alcohol abuse in the past 12 months 7.0 6.6 7.3 6.8
Age at disability onset
Under 18 21.1 81.6 32.4 7.8
18–24 9.5 16.7 17.0 5.5
25–39 23.1 1.7 42.0 18.5
40–54 34.5 . . . 8.6 50.1
55 or older 11.7 . . . . . . 18.1
General health
Excellent 4.0 15.3 6.1 1.5
Very good 6.1 17.7 8.2 3.5
Good 17.7 32.9 19.7 14.7
Fair 31.8 22.9 32.5 32.8
Poor 28.6 7.8 24.0 33.5
Very poor 11.8 3.3 9.4 14.0
NOTES: HIV/AIDS = human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome; . . . = not applicable.
a. Multiple responses possible.