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Is the 2010 Affordable Care Act minimum standard to identify disability in all national datasets good enough for policy purposes?

Author

Listed:
  • Burkhauser, Richard V.

    (Cornell University and University of Melbourne)

  • Fisher, T. Lynn

    (Social Security Administration)

  • Houtenville, Andrew J.

    (University of New Hampshire)

  • Tennant, Jennifer R.

    (Ithaca College)

Abstract

We provide a face validity test of the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) approved minimum six-question sequence (6QS) to capture the population with disabilities. Using linked 2009 Current Population Survey/Social Security Administration records data we find that the 6QS captures 66.3% of those whom administrative records confirm are receiving disability-based Social Security benefits. Adding a work-activity question increases our capture rate to 89.3%. We find little difference in the distribution of conditions of those reporting only a 6QS-based disability and those only reporting a work activity-based disability. The four function-related questions do a relatively good job of capturing beneficiaries based on these conditions. But the work-activity question does a far better job of capturing beneficiaries than do the two activity-related questions. We conclude that the 6QS is fundamentally flawed and that any minimum standard for capturing the population with disabilities must include a work-activity question.

Suggested Citation

  • Burkhauser, Richard V. & Fisher, T. Lynn & Houtenville, Andrew J. & Tennant, Jennifer R., 2014. "Is the 2010 Affordable Care Act minimum standard to identify disability in all national datasets good enough for policy purposes?," Journal of Economic and Social Measurement, IOS Press, issue 4, pages 217-245.
  • Handle: RePEc:ris:iosjes:0021
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    Cited by:

    1. Priyanka Anand & Yonatan Ben-Shalom, 2014. "How Do Working-Age People With Disabilities Spend Their Time? New Evidence From the American Time Use Survey," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 51(6), pages 1977-1998, December.
    2. Schimmel Hyde Jody & Stapleton David C., 2017. "Using the Health and Retirement Study for Disability Policy Research: A Review," Forum for Health Economics & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 20(2), pages 1-12, December.
    3. Myers, Andrew & Ward, Bryce & Wong, Jennifer & Ravesloot, Craig, 2020. "Health status changes with transitory disability over time," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 244(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Measuring disability populations; function-based measures; activity-based measures; disability prevalence; matched CPS/SSA administrative records data;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • A13 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Relation of Economics to Social Values

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