National Beneficiary Survey: Disability Statistics, 2019

Health

Table 4. Health status, by program and employment status (in percent)
Characteristic All beneficiaries Program Beneficiaries employed at interview
DI only Concurrent DI and SSI SSI only
Self-reported limiting condition a
Musculoskeletal impairment 38.8 45.8 34.0 26.5 20.0
Psychiatric impairment 38.2 33.8 40.4 46.3 32.3
Circulatory system disease 22.5 24.5 23.9 17.5 9.6
Endocrine or nutritional disorder 14.0 14.7 18.3 10.2 4.9
Nervous system disease 17.6 19.1 13.2 16.8 11.7
Injury or poisoning 11.9 14.8 6.9 8.5 6.7
Respiratory system disease 10.8 12.6 6.8 9.1 6.7
Sensory disorder 6.4 6.0 8.5 6.3 6.5
Intellectual disability 3.4 2.2 6.8 4.2 7.6
Infectious or parasitic disease 2.6 2.3 0.6 4.0 2.5
Neoplasm 6.4 5.8 9.1 6.2 5.1
Blood or blood-forming organs disease 1.1 1.2 0.5 1.2 1.4
Digestive system disease 4.2 4.7 2.7 4.0 2.1
Genitourinary system disease 4.1 4.7 3.1 3.4 0.9
Congenital anomaly 2.2 1.3 3.8 3.2 4.0
Other 19.4 20.4 19.2 17.5 12.3
Number of self-reported limiting conditions b
0 9.7 6.8 14.2 13.7 24.7
1 27.3 26.2 23.5 31.3 38.2
2 31.8 33.5 33.1 27.6 22.0
3 19.1 20.8 16.4 17.0 9.6
4 or more 12.1 12.7 12.8 10.3 5.5
Drug or alcohol abuse in the past 12 months 11.6 9.8 12.7 14.8 11.9
Age at disability onset
Under 18 21.1 10.7 31.4 37.6 40.2
18–24 8.7 7.2 12.8 9.9 12.8
25–39 22.7 22.3 18.9 25.4 16.4
40–54 34.1 39.2 34.8 22.9 25.4
55 or older 13.5 20.6 2.1 4.3 5.3
General health
Excellent 4.0 2.6 5.4 6.4 11.4
Very good 6.5 5.6 8.4 7.4 19.4
Good 16.6 14.7 20.1 19.0 28.1
Fair 34.6 35.5 35.8 32.1 26.5
Poor 26.4 29.5 20.4 22.7 12.0
Very poor 11.9 12.1 9.9 12.4 2.7
Current health compared to last year
Much better 5.1 4.2 8.0 5.7 13.1
Somewhat better 12.5 12.4 8.9 14.6 15.0
About the same 42.7 39.2 48.7 46.9 51.6
Somewhat worse 26.7 30.4 24.4 20.0 14.8
Much worse 13.0 13.7 10.0 12.9 5.5
Body mass index c
Less than 18.5 (underweight) 2.4 1.7 1.8 4.2 0.9
18.5–24.9 (normal weight) 20.8 20.1 19.5 23.1 30.1
25.0–29.9 (overweight) 28.5 28.3 26.1 30.2 26.8
30 or more (obese) 48.3 50.0 52.7 42.6 42.2
Number (unweighted) 9,092 4,281 1,813 2,998 4,597
Number (weighted) 12,666,165 7,387,330 1,771,690 3,507,145 1,212,138
a. Multiple responses possible.
b. Some beneficiaries consider one or more of their reported conditions not to be limiting.
c. Body mass index categories based on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention definitions (https://www.cdc.gov/bmi/adult-calculator/bmi-categories.html).
Table 5. Difficulty with specific activities, by program and employment status (in percent)
Difficulty type All beneficiaries Program Beneficiaries employed at interview
DI only Concurrent DI and SSI SSI only
Activities of daily living (ADL) a
Any ADL 51.7 55.5 42.9 47.9 28.0
Getting into or out of bed 33.2 36.9 23.4 30.2 17.4
Bathing or dressing 29.0 30.0 26.0 28.5 13.0
Getting around inside the house 18.1 20.7 15.5 13.9 7.4
Eating 15.0 16.1 13.7 13.2 5.1
Instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) a
Any IADL 57.2 56.8 57.6 57.8 45.9
Getting around outside of the home 48.2 47.1 50.1 49.7 39.4
Shopping for personal items 30.5 30.6 26.4 32.1 22.4
Preparing meals 36.1 34.9 36.0 38.6 28.1
Functional activities a
Walking or climbing stairs, standing for 1 hour, stooping, crouching, and/or kneeling 82.6 88.4 76.6 73.5 50.1
Grasping, reaching, and/or lifting 10 pounds 67.4 73.1 59.9 59.2 33.3
Speaking, hearing, and/or seeing 42.7 39.4 51.9 45.2 38.1
Concentrating 65.6 64.8 63.1 68.8 55.6
Getting along with others 28.2 24.2 30.9 35.3 20.2
Coping with stress 54.5 52.9 51.4 59.5 37.6
Number of ADL or IADL difficulties
0 28.3 26.5 33.5 29.5 47.1
1 19.3 20.1 16.8 19.0 18.3
2 14.5 14.8 12.1 15.3 11.4
3 13.0 11.7 19.2 12.7 10.1
4 11.1 12.5 8.1 9.4 7.0
5 6.6 7.1 4.7 6.6 3.7
6 4.8 5.0 2.9 5.2 2.2
7 2.4 2.3 2.8 2.4 0.2
Number (unweighted) 9,092 4,281 1,813 2,998 4,597
Number (weighted) 12,666,165 7,387,330 1,771,690 3,507,145 1,212,138
a. Multiple responses possible.
Table 6. Health insurance status and sources, by program and employment status (in percent)
Characteristic All beneficiaries Program Beneficiaries employed at interview
DI only Concurrent DI and SSI SSI only
Insured at interview
Yes 96.5 97.3 97.6 94.5 94.0
No 1.6 0.8 1.1 3.5 3.6
Unknown 1.9 1.9 1.4 2.1 2.4
Health insurance source at interview a
Medicaid or Medicare 92.0 91.6 96.4 90.6 81.0
Private 18.1 25.2 3.8 10.3 31.3
Other 5.5 8.0 2.2 2.1 4.9
Private insurance source
Through own employment 17.3 18.8 11.1 10.7 41.5
Through spouse 39.1 35.6 48.4 55.7 35.4
Self or family purchased 25.7 29.1 26.9 8.2 16.1
Other 16.1 15.3 11.5 21.1 5.5
Unknown 1.8 1.3 2.2 4.3 1.5
Number (unweighted)
All beneficiaries 9,092 4,281 1,813 2,998 4,597
Beneficiaries with private insurance 2,234 1,400 261 573 1,587
Number (weighted)
All beneficiaries 12,666,165 7,387,330 1,771,690 3,507,145 1,212,138
Beneficiaries with private insurance 2,289,783 1,860,846 67,614 361,324 378,750
Beneficiaries with private insurance as a percentage of all beneficiaries (weighted) 18.1 25.2 3.8 10.3 31.2
a. Multiple responses possible.
Table 7. Health status, by selected impairment (in percent)
Characteristic All beneficiaries Beneficiaries reporting—
Musculoskeletal impairment Mental impairment Intellectual disability
Self-reported limiting condition a
Musculoskeletal impairment 38.8 100.0 36.1 10.4
Psychiatric impairment 38.2 35.5 100.0 39.4
Circulatory system disease 22.5 23.3 19.1 7.1
Endocrine or nutritional disorder 14.0 18.5 15.4 8.7
Nervous system disease 17.6 18.7 16.6 26.8
Injury or poisoning 11.9 11.9 10.1 5.2
Respiratory system disease 10.8 13.8 8.2 2.3
Sensory disorder 6.4 6.6 6.0 7.5
Intellectual disability 3.4 0.9 3.5 100.0
Infectious or parasitic disease 2.6 3.2 3.0 (X)
Neoplasm 6.4 7.4 5.3 0.7
Blood or blood-forming organs disease 1.1 1.5 0.8 0.4
Digestive system disease 4.2 3.9 3.6 4.1
Genitourinary system disease 4.1 3.9 4.2 1.0
Congenital anomaly 2.2 1.2 2.1 6.4
Other 19.4 20.3 17.0 20.2
Number of self-reported limiting conditions b
0 9.7 . . . . . . . . .
1 27.3 15.1 24.4 19.4
2 31.8 36.0 33.1 38.3
3 19.1 26.1 23.2 31.0
4 or more 12.1 22.8 19.4 11.4
Drug or alcohol abuse in the past 12 months 11.6 10.0 13.9 2.6
Age at disability onset
Under 18 21.1 6.5 25.7 93.7
18–24 8.7 6.6 13.5 4.2
25–39 22.7 24.5 28.0 1.5
40–54 34.1 46.3 26.8 0.6
55 or older 13.5 16.2 6.0 (X)
General health
Excellent 4.0 0.6 2.9 10.4
Very good 6.5 2.7 5.4 17.6
Good 16.6 8.8 15.9 28.5
Fair 34.6 37.2 35.3 31.4
Poor 26.4 37.7 27.4 9.3
Very poor 11.9 13.1 13.0 2.9
Number (unweighted) 9,092 2,259 3,606 398
Number (weighted) 12,666,165 4,914,283 4,832,203 428,559
NOTE: (X) = suppressed to avoid disclosing information about particular individuals; . . . = not applicable.
a. Multiple responses possible.
b. Some beneficiaries consider one or more of their reported conditions not to be limiting.
Table 8. Health status, by age (in percent)
Characteristic All beneficiaries Under 30 30–49 50 or older
Self-reported limiting condition a
Musculoskeletal impairment 38.8 6.6 29.4 46.8
Psychiatric impairment 38.2 51.6 50.0 31.8
Circulatory system disease 22.5 3.8 10.6 29.5
Endocrine or nutritional disorder 14.0 4.2 8.8 17.2
Nervous system disease 17.6 16.8 19.9 16.9
Injury or poisoning 11.9 3.6 11.0 13.4
Respiratory system disease 10.8 4.6 6.6 13.2
Sensory disorder 6.4 7.5 7.3 6.0
Intellectual disability 3.4 10.5 5.9 1.5
Infectious or parasitic disease 2.6 0.2 2.0 3.1
Neoplasm 6.4 1.2 4.2 7.9
Blood or blood-forming organs disease 1.1 0.6 1.5 0.9
Digestive system disease 4.2 2.2 4.7 4.3
Genitourinary system disease 4.1 1.6 4.1 4.5
Congenital anomaly 2.2 9.1 4.0 0.6
Other 19.4 12.7 19.0 20.5
Number of self-reported limiting conditions b
0 9.7 17.4 9.9 8.6
1 27.3 45.8 32.7 22.7
2 31.8 24.2 31.1 33.2
3 19.1 9.1 16.3 21.5
4 or more 12.1 3.6 10.0 14.0
Drug or alcohol abuse in the past 12 months 11.6 8.9 12.1 11.8
Age at disability onset
Under 18 21.1 83.8 35.3 7.1
18–24 8.7 15.4 16.2 5.0
25–39 22.7 0.8 39.4 19.2
40–54 34.1 . . . 9.0 48.2
55 or older 13.5 . . . . . . 20.5
General health
Excellent 4.0 15.0 5.2 2.1
Very good 6.5 15.6 7.2 5.0
Good 16.6 28.2 20.9 13.4
Fair 34.6 27.9 34.4 35.6
Poor 26.4 10.9 23.1 29.7
Very poor 11.9 2.3 9.1 14.2
Number (unweighted) 9,092 1,885 4,292 2,915
Number (weighted) 12,666,165 1,129,444 3,183,724 8,352,997
NOTE: . . . = not applicable.
a. Multiple responses possible.
b. Some beneficiaries consider one or more of their reported conditions not to be limiting.