December 2003

Understanding the Health-Care Needs and Experiences of People with Disabilities: Findings from a 2003 Survey

A central goal of this study is to describe the health-care experiences of non-elderly adults across a broad array of disability types and sources of health insurance. The questions in the screener instrument were designed to capture two groups of individuals between ages 18-64: 1) those receiving disability payments through either the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) programs; and 2) those who consider themselves as having a mental or physical disability, but who are not receiving payments from either program. These questions were asked again for validation purposes when the households were recontacted for complete interviews. The survey instrument included items on respondents disabling conditions, health-care utilization, health insurance, access to care, cost burdens, employment status and history, and basic demographic characteristics.