How Health Care Providers Are Contributing to the Iatrogenic Disability Crisis in the United States

Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) provides monthly payments to qualified people with impairments that prevent or limit the ability to work for one year or more or will result in death. Benefit payments from the SSDI trust fund, from which benefits are paid to disabled workers, their spouses, and children, increased by 5.8% from $143.6 billion in 2022 to $151.9 billion in 2023.1 In an effort to reduce disability costs, the United States Department of Labor Office of Disability Employment Policy embarked on a research program to promote closer coordination among individuals and organizations who influence workers’ decisions about how or whether to stay at or return to work following a physical or mental impairment resulting in disability.