NB24-07: SSI and SSDI Utilization by American Indians and Alaska Natives – the Effects of Medicaid Expansions and Long COVID

American Indian and Alaska Natives (AIs) participate in SSI at about twice the rate of the general population, and they have the highest rate of disability among working age adults (Stoddard, 2021). AI individuals have experienced the highest COVID-related mortality rate in the US; they are more than twice as likely to die of COVID than non-Hispanic white people (CDC, 2021). Despite persistent poverty and strong evidence of actual and perceived discrimination, little is known about how these populations experience the social safety net. There are three related questions we will study in this work. First, have AI individuals pursued and attained comparable coverage and access to Social Security programs when they have eligible symptoms or conditions? Second, how have the generosity of Medicaid and the presence of Indian Health Service (IHS) facilities affected AI utilization of the social safety net? Finally, are there any differences in post-COVID health utilization and participation in SSI/SSDI across AI individuals and other groups? Because we have already obtained access to 22 years of Medicaid and Medicare data for this project, our major activities will be:
● Finish review of literature
● Generate descriptive statistics and perform empirical analysis
● Prepare research paper.