Turning 40? Sen. Rand Paul says you can look forward to back pain in your near future, and maybe some anxiety. But don’t try to turn your ailments into a government check.
At a breakfast event Wednesday, Jan. 14 in New Hampshire, the Kentucky Republican and potential presidential candidate spoke out against a public safety net that catches too many people who don’t need help.
"The thing is, all of these programs, there’s always somebody who’s deserving. (But) everybody in this room knows somebody who is gaming the system," Paul said.
The proof? Look no further than the diagnoses landing people on disability, he added.
"Over half the people on disability are either anxious or their back hurts. Join the club," he said to laughter. "Who doesn’t get up a little anxious for work every day and their back hurts? Everybody over 40 has a little back pain."
Paul may be having a little fun about the aches and pains of growing older, but his comment raises serious questions about a program relied on by millions of people.Is the majority of the disability population suffering from back pain and anxiety? We decided to check the numbers.
Identifying the problem
The Social Security Administration has provided benefits to people with disabilities since President Dwight Eisenhower signed legislation in 1956. The program is intended to provide cash assistance to people who are disabled for a year or longer and cannot work or can only work menial jobs for little pay (about $1,000 a month).
The number of individuals receiving disability has been on an upward trajectory for decades. In 1970, there were less than 2 million beneficiaries; now, the program has surpassed 10 million, far outpacing U.S. population growth. Nearly two-thirds of people on disability are 50 or older.
The large growth in the program has sparked claims of waste, fraud and abuse. And indeed, several reports from the Government Accountability Office have found problems with the program, as Paul’s office pointed out.
After an audit of disability insurance in 2013, the Government Accountability Office estimated that in fiscal year 2011, the Social Security Administration made $1.29 billion in potential cash benefit overpayments to about 36,000 individuals who were working and making more than $1,100 a month (the limit to receive disability benefits).
The 36,000 people receiving improper payments, while a lot on paper, represent about 0.4 percent of all beneficiaries, the report said.
There are other ways Social Security gives out benefits to those not deserving, but paying people already working is about 72 percent of the problem, according to the Social Security Administration. Factoring that in, the GAO estimates overpayments equaled $1.62 billion, or 1.27 percent of all disability benefits, in 2011. It’s a lot of money, but the disability program is a $128 billion program.
The Government Accountability Office goes on to say the exact number of improper payments is unknown. It could be higher. Additionally, another GAO report warned the Social Security Administration’s efforts to thwart potential physician-assisted fraud are "hampered by a lack of planning, data, and coordination."
Back and anxiety
Let’s narrow in on Paul’s specific claim: "Over half the people on disability are either anxious or their back hurts."
This is not rooted in the official numbers. Social Security does not group people by back pain or anxiety in any of their published reports.
Instead, they track a much broader list of physical and mental ailments. What would back pain or anxiety fall under?