The short story is that I subscribe to daily google news feeds on disability. Last evening, this article title came across my screen. I thought, oh dear. This is not going to be a pleasant experience. I sent the article to a group of friends which includes the disabled and their caretakers. I took the plunge. See the results here:
http://olivialarosa.com/...
The article begins:
The only real surprise to me with this story is that it hasn’t received bigger play in the workers’ compensation blogosphere. The discussion may be out there, but I seem to have missed it.
A study released this past week shows that recipients of federal disability checks often admit that they are capable of working but simply don’t. Furthermore, the study found that people closest to disability recipients tell them they should be working, but they have no plans to do so anytime soon.
Shocked. Simply shocked.
This survey did something that I have not seen before. It defined and explored a difference between SSDI and SSI, and how people on each program respond and think. SSDI is for people who worked and contributed to Social Security prior to their disability event. It is considered an “earned” benefit. SSI is for those who have likely never worked or have contributed very little, but have successfully convinced the government that they are disabled, and therefore are awarded an “unearned” benefit.
Researchers found that those collecting government checks from the SSI (unearned) program report less pain than those on SSDI. They are typically overweight, uneducated and from broken homes.
Shocked. Simply shocked.
I know many cynics out there will be surprised to learn this, but despite claiming medical problems as the reason they do not work, “most have never received significant medical treatment and [have] not seen a doctor about their condition in the last year”. And the most shocking revelation of all? “Those who acknowledge they're on disability because they can't find a job say they make little effort to find one”.