Early Identification of Potential SSDI Entrants in California: The Predictive Value of State Disability Insurance and Workers’ Compensation Claims

Purpose

Examine the potential for using information in short-term disability claims to identify workers at high risk of leaving the workforce and entering Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI).

Methods

We analyze state-wide California data on claimants of State Disability Insurance (SDI) and Workers’ Compensation (WC) and present statistics on: (1) characteristics (primary diagnosis, sex, age, geography, wage level) by claim duration (0–3, 4–6, 7–12, 12 + months); and (2) the ability of initial claim characteristics to predict duration of at least 12 months. All data are for claims with disability lasting more than 1 week.

Results

22.2% of SDI claims last longer than 6 months and 12.5% last 12 months. More WC claims reach these durations: 33.7 and 18.6%, respectively. Long-term SDI and WC claimants are similar to SSDI awardees, nationwide, but differ in age distribution; they are typically younger.

Conclusions

Characteristics of SDI and WC claims can help predict claims likely to last 12 months, but more information is needed to effectively target early intervention services. Waiting longer to intervene improves targeting but risks missing opportunities where early intervention could be more effective. Collecting additional information at SDI or WC entry or soon thereafter could improve both the efficiency and timing of interventions.