Causes of the Disparities in the Disability Benefits System Essay

Disability has been a difficult topic of society for years. Many people find discomfort in the presence of the disabled and many feel pity for those who are disabled. Back in the 1800s, the disabled were perceived as unable to contribute to society, often forced to undergo sterilization, and forced into institutions and asylums (“A Brief History”). In fact, this treatment of the disabled and mentally ill has been persistent until somewhat recently, when the Civil Rights movement took place, and those with disabilities decided to take a stand for their rights. Although people with disabilities continue to face difficulties in finding jobs, legitimizing their opinion, having the right to vote, and choosing whether or not they receive or refuse

Individuals with disabilities continually encounter various forms of discrimination, including intentional exclusion from certain work areas, that denies them the opportunity to compete on an equal basis and to pursue those opportunities that guarantees success in the society. To guarantee success there is expectation regarding the relationship between the employer and employee, giving close attention to the various factors that should be considered to make the person with disability successful. This paper outlines the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the terms and conditions covering employees and employers as stated in Title 1. Title 1, as amended by the ADA amendment 2008, states that no covered entity will discriminate against a qualified individual based on disability (EEOC, 2015).

As the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act approaches later this month, it is clear that many of the fears of the business community failed to materialize. In the first five years of the act, there was no wave of business failures tied to compliance; no wave of unqualified applicants whom businesses were forced to hire; no wave of workers suddenly claiming disability due to a bad back; and no wave of lawsuits that inundated businesses with the burden of undue legal costs. (ADA.gov, 1995). In fact, tax subsidies provided in the act helped many businesses afford to make necessary access accommodations as well as to provide other reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities, and the positive ramifications have been considerable. Up to 45 percent of the disabled population now hold jobs and are contributing to the economy, (Brault, 2012).

However, this causes a financial burden. Medicare is a program which provides insurance benefits to all individuals aged sixty-five and older, including younger people with disabilities (Grabowski, 2007). Medicare covers few long-term care services and Medicaid covers the rest of the huge amount. “Policy options include capitation, pay-for-performance, and federalization, in which federal government would assume the Medicaid’s costs for the dually eligible population” (Grabowski, 2007). Medicaid and Medicare programs do not sufficiently cover acute and long-term care services, an example. After the injury the disability process takes long. There is a language barrier, institutional barrier, and ratio cost-sharing. Also, cost shifting within health care settings, and cost shifting across health care settings needs major improvements. Policy holders should expand their critical

I have experienced less than most due to the fact that I am employed by a Catholic, ministry-based organization, and all patients are treated equally regardless of ability to pay. However, if a patient has a connection to the hospital, especially financially, they do no wait in the ER, but are direct admitted by the physicians, to the best rooms available, and receive more frequent visits from physicians. These disprepancies are based on influence and financial contribution.

The challenges we face with access of care can extremely discriminate and damaging to individuals, families, and communities. Barriers of accommodation, availability, accessibility and acceptability are obstructions that need to be demolished. 28% of insured people with disabilities reported needing particular therapies, equipment or medications that were not covered by their health plans, compared to 7 percent of those without disabilities (N.O.D, 2000). Enforcement efforts recently have failed to bring a need change to the healthcare access for disable people. Regardless of their disability, they should have access to affordable, comprehensive, and adaptive

The topic in regards to the disabled worker is of interest to the author. The commentary is titled “Accommodation for Disabled Workers: Knowledge of Rights a Good Start” at the Rand Corporation blog by author Kathleen Mullen. The article describes how employees quitting their jobs because of healthcare decline and applying for social security benefits. As a number of social security benefits increase it puts US funding at risk. The author knows several disabled workers that are faced with working with a health-related disability. Additionally, they are challenged to take care of their families in spite of their disability. The disabled subgroup often expresses that they feel misunderstood by the world. The disabled person is betwixt and in between.; society expects the

In 2013, the Office of the Inspector General stated “we know there are individuals who will purposely withhold or fabricate information to collect government benefits they are not entitled to receive” (Finger, 2013.) As a result, the Senate conducted their own investigation into combating disability fraud, waste and abuse (Finger, 2013.) This studied concluded that one fourth of all disability claim decisions were flawed and improperly addressed “insufficient, contradictory, and incomplete evidence, thus increasing the chances of rewarding a nondisabled person” (Finger, 2013.) The study also showed

In the empirical study by Beford in 2013 , one assumption is that the ADAAA will result in fewer summary judgment rulings finding that claimants lack standing as covered individuals with a disability. This study examines all reported federal court summary judgment decisions arising under Title I of the ADA for a forty-month period extending from

In 1973 the section 504 rehabilitation act banned discrimination on people with disabilities. “For the first time, the exclusion and segregation of people with disabilities was viewed as discrimination” (Mayerson). People thought that people with disabilities that were unemployed and uneducated was “inevitable” (Mayerson). People fighting for the disabled proved that this was wrong and needed to be changed. The Americans with Disabilities act changed nothing for the employment for them, and by 2018 people with disabilities were still getting wages 40 percent below a “healthy person’s” (Picker). But, despite some unchanged discrimination the fixing of the equality between the disabled and nondisabled, right now, is that the Americans

Disability is an impairment is a life changing condition that limits one’s physical or mental abilities. Disabilities comes in many forms such as blindness, hearing, speech disorder, loss of vision. and memory. As well as, chronic illness such as diabetes, HIV, obesity. Under Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (“ADA”) employers, cannot discriminate against qualified individuals with disabilities when hiring, firing, job promotion, distribution of benefits and privileges. In addition, by law, employers must make reasonable effort to modify work equipment and job settings for people with disabilities. Such as job schedules, employee training and communication devices; without causing an undue hardship, significant difficulty

The issue of disparities in health service and uneven distribution of resources in the United States health care system are well-known principle challenges in medicine. The United States doesn’t adhere to any health care model in particular instead it is structured as a hierarchy, causing wide gaps in quality and availability of health care to exist between income levels. For instance, the level of care and or coverage of a child in a rural area like Flint, Michigan (where 40% of the population live below the federal poverty line) will not compare to the quality of care delivered to the child of a wealthy CEO who resides in San Jose, CA. Conversely, low-income areas are generally less sanitary and less healthy than their richer counterparts. Hence, these low income/impoverished demographics deserves more attention than currently allocated, they deserve more health resources and funding because this type of demographics is

Employers operate disability management programs because it gives them a structured way to manage workplace costs associated with workplace illness and injury. Costs can be controlled through maintaining skilled workers and limiting absences to maintain a productive workforce. The program is also thought to “prevent workplace injury and illness and to accommodate workers in a manner that facilitates early and safe return to work.” (Management of Occupational Health and Safety, 2011, 329) I also feel that employers operate disability management programs as a way to keep themselves out of financial hardship and legal issues which could stem from a workplace injury or illness.

The SSI policy can be very beneficial to any individual experiencing a disability. Albeit, financial limitations due pose a threat of becoming eligible and connected to the managed care services/specialist a person may need to maintain or further improve their disability. That being expressed, I will now share a life story/case example of how the SSI policy can play a major part in someone’s life both in a negative and positive way. As a family, our journey with the SSI policy started back when my twin daughters were born in 2003. After my wife had a premature delivery at 28 weeks due to pregnancy complications, our identical twin daughters were born each weighting an unbelievable pound and a half. Per the labor, delivery physician, the umbilical

The dominant model of disability for the majority of the 20th century was the medical model. The medical model’s emphasis is on impairment; this is the cause of the disadvantage disabled individuals face and therefore the site of interventions (Crow, 1996). It is based in the biomedical and clinical. It views disability as a personal tragedy, an idea which is often implicit in work around disability based on the medical model. (Oliver, 1990).