Economic Justice

The introduction of a more stringent test to assess eligibility for disability benefit in England may have taken a "serious" toll on the nation's mental health, concludes research published online in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health.

Since 2010 the test, known as the Work Capability Assessment (WCA), has been used to assess the eligibility of claimants of the main out of work disability benefit, in a bid to get more people back into the workplace and help curb the government's rising welfare bill.

But areas with the greatest use of the WCA to assess existing claimants have seen the sharpest rises in reported suicides, mental health issues, and antidepressant prescribing, the findings show, prompting the researchers to question the wisdom of introducing this policy.

This adds up to a total of 590 additional suicides, 279,000 extra cases of mental ill health and 725,000 more prescriptions for antidepressants across the country as a whole that were associated with the reassessment policy between 2010 and 2013..

The researchers, who sent résumés and cover letters on behalf of fictitious candidates for thousands of accounting jobs, found that employers expressed interest in candidates who disclosed a disability about 26 percent less frequently than in candidates who did not.

“I don’t think we were astounded by the fact that there were fewer expressions of interest” for people with disabilities, said Lisa Schur, a Rutgers political scientist who was part of the research team. “But I don’t think we were expecting it to be as large.”

The sole variation among the otherwise identically qualified candidates appeared in the cover letters, which revealed a disability for some but not for others.

The seven principles for reform put forward by the organizations are as follows:

1. Commitment to the expressed integration mandate set forth by the Supreme Court of the United States in the case of Olmstead v. L.C.: Segregation of people with disabilities in work sites, such as sheltered workshops and enclaves, is inconsistent with Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act. People with disabilities must be supported to lead fully integrated lives in their communities, including throughout their workday.
2. Implementation and development of best practices for employment of people with significant disabilities: People employed by contracts negotiated through the AbilityOne procurement process must have their employment goals supported by providers implementing recognized best practices, such as Supported Employment and Customized Employment, that result in good jobs in the community.
3. Elimination of conflicts of interest that contribute to exploitation, fraud, and abuse: Conflicts of interest in AbilityOne contract implementation are rampant, and must be identified and prohibited. These include determination of employee eligibility by community rehabilitation programs (CRPs) implementing contracts, as well as the use of contract funds for lobbying and other purposes.
4. Payment of prevailing wages and the elimination of subminimum-wage payments: Payment of subminimum wages to people with disabilities is intolerable in the United States. People with disabilities should be paid the prevailing wage for the task they are performing.
5. Ensuring financial and operational transparency and accountability: AbilityOne contract use of funds must be transparent and readily available (online) to the public at every level, including the purpose and amount of funds used by the Central Nonprofit Agencies, executive compensation packages of nonprofits involved in the program, worker wage ranges, and purposes of funds used.
6. Relationship with employer: The ultimate objective of a federally-sanctioned special procurement program should be to connect employees with mainstream employers, as opposed to having people with disabilities working for nonprofit entities under specialized, set-aside contracts.
7. Prioritizing awarding of contracts available through the procurement process to disability-owned businesses, including self-employed individuals with disabilities: Rather than all contracts going to the non-profit organizations currently involved in the program, individuals with disabilities should be encouraged to compete for service contracts.

Decrying an “addiction to adversity,” NPR host John Hockenberry said people should focus on building a more inclusive society and providing jobs to individuals with disabilities.

“Let’s stop handing out medals. Let’s stop telling people they’re heroes and give them jobs,” he said to applause at the Seaport World Trade Center, where several hundred disability activists from around the world gathered for the inaugural Ruderman Inclusion Summit.

“People look at veterans who are disabled and say, ‘Oh, I totally understand this, you’re like a hero and you gave up chunks of your brain and a couple of your limbs for our country. I get it, wow, you’re a hero, thank you very much. Wow, give them a flag,’” Hockenberry said. “Nothing makes veterans go crazier than that, feel more disempowered than that, feel more demeaned than that.”

The focus should be on jobs, inclusion and diversity, said Hockenberry, a paraplegic due to a car crash when he was 19.

The last-minute agreement spares 11 million Social Security disability beneficiaries from a 20 percent benefits cut by at the end of 2016 by transferring revenue from the more flush retirement and survivors insurance trust fund. It prevents Medicare Part B premiums from rising 52 percent for many beneficiaries. And it averts a government shutdown and lifts the debt ceiling until March 2017.

For major advocacy groups, those benefits were enough for them to reluctantly accept the deal, even though they weren't shy about criticizing it. The bill comes with a host of provisions that tweak disability insurance, and it eliminates a program that allowed 20 states to award disability benefits to some applicants without an independent medical evaluation.

 Michigan residents who care for an individual with a disability will soon have access to special savings accounts to help them pay for certain expenses, thanks to legislation signed today by Lt. Gov. Brian Calley. Article V, Section 26 of the Michigan Constitution gives authority to the lieutenant governor to sign legislation when the governor is out of state. Gov. Snyder is currently attending the 2015 Ontario Economic Summit.

“The ABLE Act provides Michiganders with disabilities more financial opportunities that will help them live more self-determined independent lives,” Calley said. “Families will now have tax-exempt options to save more money to support their loved ones without worrying about losing access to other benefits.”

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