Longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study support the concept that disability reflects a progression from disease to impairment to functional limitation and finally to disability.
Workers' compensation reforms (Senate Bill 863) have likely increased wage replacement rates for permanently disabled Californians by 21.4 percentage points since 2012. The bill is helping to offset the recession's lasting effects on earnings losses.
Following California's major reforms to the state workers' compensation system, RAND researchers assess trends in earnings loss and permanent partial disability benefits before the reforms, as well as how the reforms might affect injury compensation.
With a 36 percent chance of becoming disabled at least once before reaching age 50, it is imperative that workers know their rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the resources available to help them.
Patients whose type 2 diabetes went into remission after bariatric surgery experienced a 29 percent reduction in risk of microvascular disease incidence for up to seven years after surgery.
Service members deployed to a combat zone, especially if they have direct combat experience, are more likely to report multiple physical symptoms (MPS), poorly defined health complaints associated with more health care needs and disability.
RAND Labor and Population conducts research related to social insurance and welfare programs, including studies of wide-reaching events such as the Great Recession and Hurricane Katrina to studies of individual health conditions or unemployment.
Social Security Disability Insurance will be unable to cover 20 percent of its scheduled benefit obligations beginning in 2016. The lack of an evidentiary base to guide policy has been one of the major impediments to the consideration of changes that could modernize the program without jeopardizing its essential safety net function.
We present the first causal estimates of the effect of Social Security Disability Insurance benefit receipt on labor supply using all program applicants.
Bariatric surgery for diabetic people who are not severely obese has shown promising results in controlling glucose, but more information is needed about the long-term benefits and risks before recommending bariatric surgery over non-surgical weight-loss treatment for these individuals.
Bariatric surgery is beneficial in persons with a body mass index (BMI) of 35 or greater with obesity-related comorbidities. There is interest in using these procedures in persons with lower BMI and diabetes.
Reviews the scientific evidence on efficacy, safety, and comparative effectiveness of various types of bariatric surgery for treating adult patients with a body mass index (BMI) of 30.0 to 34.9 kg/m² and diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance (IGT).
Compares the weight loss and glucose control outcomes of bariatric surgery with nonsurgical therapy in the two RCTs that directly compared these in patients with diabetes for only those patients with a body mass index (BMI) of 30.0 to 34.9 kg/m2.
The combined effects of having potentially employable individuals receive SSDI benefits, and the loss of skills among those who are denied benefits, are significant, write Nicole Maestas and Kathleen Mullen.
Impairment ratings are accurate predictors of disability severity on average, but their ability to measure disability could be improved with additional information on how the relationship between ratings and earnings loss varies according to patient and injury characteristics.
Obese Medicare beneficiaries have poorer health, functions, and health-related quality of life. They also have substantially higher use of outpatient services.
