SSI for the Aged and the Problem of 'Take-Up'
63 Pages Posted: 13 Feb 2008
Date Written: January 1, 2004
Abstract
The Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program provides an income and health care safety net for the elderly poor. The phenomenon of apparently eligible households that do not enroll in, or 'take up' SSI has been noted as a severe problem since the program's inception in 1974. This paper examines SSI eligibility, applications, and participation in the aged population from 1984 (the most recent year analyzed in the literature to date) through 1997. We are fortunate to have administrative data on SSI use that is linked to various panels of the SIPP. We use this information to estimate the SSI-aged application choice. The key findings from the earlier literature are sensitive with respect to exact sample specification, alternative approaches to imputing the expected SSI benefit, and more detailed information on application and receipt culled from administrative files. Our findings suggest that cash benefits may be less influential, and Medicaid access through SSI more influential, than previously estimated.
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?
Recommended Papers
-
By David Neumark and Elizabeth T. Powers
-
Why Did the Ssi-Disabled Program Grow so Much? Disentangling the Effect of Medicaid
-
Welfare for the Elderly: The Effects of Ssi on Pre-Retirement Labor Supply
By David Neumark and Elizabeth T. Powers
-
By Elizabeth T. Powers and David Neumark
-
By Elizabeth T. Powers and David Neumark
-
By Elizabeth T. Powers and David Neumark
-
Take-Up of Medicare Part D and the SSA Subsidy: Early Results from the Health and Retirement Study
By Helen Levy and David Weir
-
Public Health Insurance and SSI Program Participation Among the Aged
By Todd E. Elder and Elizabeth T. Powers
-
The Effects of Changes in State Ssi Supplements on Pre-Retirement Labor Supply
By David Neumark and Elizabeth T. Powers