Amal Trivedi, Brown University - Effects of Disability Compensation among Vietnam-Era Veterans with Diabetes

Title: Effects of Disability Compensation among Vietnam-Era Veterans with Diabetes

Abstract:  Whether income assistance for poor and disabled adults improves health is a crucial but unresolved question. We study a 2001 policy change that newly qualified some, but not all, US Vietnam-era Veterans with diabetes for disability compensation. Using a difference-in-differences approach with nearly 20 years of follow-up data, we find that the policy led to a $17,160 increase in annual disability-related income among newly-eligible Veterans. Disability compensation was not associated with lower mortality but yielded a 21% decline in hospitalizations as well as increased use of cardiovascular and diabetes-related medications and more days spent at home rather than in institutional settings. The findings suggest that Veterans’ disability compensation, which accounted for $91 billion in spending in 2019, may improve health outcomes and lower healthcare spending.

Presenter: Amal N Trivedi, Brown University

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