Duke 2008 | ASHE | Equity and Efficiency in Health and Healthcare

Prior research has shown correlations between disability poverty, unemployment and worker incentives. This paper examines healthcare provider incentives to have patients on disability. Medicare has historically reimbursed healthcare providers more than Medicaid for providing the same service. The percentage of disabled workers in all states and the District of Columbia is correlated with healthcare provider incentives. Disabled workers are defined as those qualified to receive benefits under the Social Security Old Age and Disability Program, OASDI. Healthcare provider incentives studied are Medicare/Medicaid reimbursement ratio, Medicaid fees, percent of state residents uninsured, and percent of state residents on Medicaid. A recipient incentive measure median OASDI monthly beneficiary payment was included in the model. Four separate years (1989, 1993, 1998, and 2003) were modeled. Significant correlation between percent on OASDI disability and Medicaid insurance, Medicaid fees, and Medicare-Medicaid fee ratios was observed. There was no correlation between the percent uninsured and the median monthly payment received by beneficiaries and the incidence of disability in states.