According to the recently released Annual Statistical Report on the Social Security Disability Insurance Program for 2012, “mental disorder” is the leading diagnostic group for those with disabilities that receive federal disability insurance benefits. The report offers a statistical analysis of the 10,088,739 people who were receiving federal disability benefits as of December 2012. The report also notes that this figure is almost double the number of disabled beneficiaries who were receiving Social Security disability benefits in December of 1995. There were 5,044,388 disabled beneficiaries at that time.Included within the report is a finding that 35.5% of all disabled beneficiaries have a “mental disorder.” Washington D.C. and Massachusetts led the nation, reporting that number at 43.2% and 50.1% within their borders. Further, the most common specific diagnosis within this “mental disorders diagnostic group” was a “mood disorder.” The report notes that 14.1% of all disabled beneficiaries in the United States had such a disorder.
Within the mental disorders diagnostic group, the Social Security Administration analyzed numbers for eight different subgroups. These subgroups break down as follows:
- Autistic disorders – 0.4% of all disabled beneficiaries
- Developmental disorders – 0.1% of all disabled beneficiaries
- Childhood and adolescent disorders – 0.1% of all disabled beneficiaries
- Intellectual disability – 8.4% of all disabled beneficiaries
- Organic mental disorders – 3.4% of all disabled beneficiaries
- Schizophrenic and other psychotic disorders – 5.1% of all disabled beneficiaries
- Mood disorders – 14.1% of all disabled beneficiaries
- Other – 3.8% of all disabled beneficiaries
According to the report’s findings, the second largest diagnostic group for disabled beneficiaries was “musculoskeletal system and connective tissue” problems. This group made up 2,730,100 recipients, or 27.1% of all disabled beneficiaries.
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Read More About Mental Disorders Largest Group of SSD Beneficiaries…
by Paul B. Burkhalter Managing Partner of Morgan Weisbrod , Board Certified in Social Security Disability Law.