Disability: Your GoodRx Guide
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) defines a disability as a “physical or mental impairment” that limits at least one significant life activity.
The ADA does not list every condition that qualifies as a disability. So it may be helpful to consider six categories summarized by the CDC:
Visual: conditions including blindness and low vision
Hearing: conditions including deafness and hearing loss
Mobility: conditions that impede movement like walking or fine motor function
Cognitive: conditions that disrupt learning, processing, and communicating information
Self-care: conditions that make it difficult to do tasks like bathing or cooking food
Independent living: conditions that limit tasks like grocery shopping or transportation
About 25% of Americans live with some form of disability. Some disabilities can be present at birth or develop in childhood. Others result from injury or illness.
The ADA legally protects people with disabilities from discrimination. Still, many people with disabilities experience a type of prejudice called ableism. Ableism is characterized by the assumption that there is a typical human body and disabled bodies are abnormal by comparison.
Examples of the consequences of ableism are:
Someone using a wheelchair can’t enter a building because there isn’t a ramp.
A patient who is deaf can’t communicate with a provider because the hospital doesn’t have an American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter.
A job description excludes many people who have a disability because it lists lifting 25 pounds as a requirement, despite it not being essential to the work.
Because of ableism, people who have a disability are:
More than twice as likely to be unemployed
More likely to live in poverty
Significantly less likely to receive preventative medical care
Almost five times more likely to report mental distress
Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) is a benefits program run by the Social Security Administration (SSA). SSDI provides monthly benefit payments to people with disabilities and, in some cases, their family members.
To qualify for SSDI, you must have worked in a job that paid into Social Security before becoming disabled. You also must have a qualifying disability, which is determined by the severity of your condition and whether you’re able to work or not. You can read more about how to apply for SSDI in this GoodRx Health article.
SSDI is sometimes confused with Supplemental Security Income (SSI). SSI is a needs-based program that provides monthly financial benefits to older adults, people who are blind or have another disability, and low-income individuals.
If you qualify for SSDI and SSI, you may be eligible to receive both benefits at the same time.
Some employers offer disability insurance in addition to health benefits. With employer disability insurance, you will receive partial wage replacement if you cannot work for a short period of time because of an illness or disability.
For people who have disabilities, it can be difficult to live in a world that doesn’t prioritize accessibility. If you’re navigating a new disability, these resources can help you understand your rights:
Information about disability benefits from the Social Security Administration (SSA)
Healthcare.gov’s explanation of coverage options
Information on the U.S. Employment Opportunity Commission website
It can be helpful to find support from communities of people with disabilities. These excellent organizations can help you get started:
Someone who identifies as disabled may also be marginalized because of their race, class, gender identity, or sexual identity, among other things. Fortunately, many organizations for people with disabilities focus on intersectionality. Stanford University’s Office of Accessible Education has compiled an excellent list of these organizations.
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) makes it illegal for private healthcare insurers to deny coverage to people with disabilities or preexisting health conditions. Insurers cannot charge people with disabilities more for health insurance plans, either.
Younger people with disabilities can also access Medicare, a federal health insurance program. And low-income people with disabilities can get free or low-cost health insurance through Medicaid. Learn more about these programs in GoodRx Health’s guide to health insurance.
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) makes it illegal for private healthcare insurers to deny coverage to people with disabilities or preexisting health conditions. Insurers cannot charge people with disabilities more for health insurance plans, either.
Younger people with disabilities can also access Medicare, a federal health insurance program. And low-income people with disabilities can get free or low-cost health insurance through Medicaid. Learn more about these programs in GoodRx Health’s guide to health insurance.
A mental health condition is considered a disability if it impedes your ability to perform day-to-day activities. If your condition makes it impossible for you to work, you may be eligible for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI).
If you do not require workplace accommodations, you do not need to disclose your mental health condition to employers. It is also illegal for an employer to fire you because of your condition.
An invisible illness is any illness that cannot be identified based on a person’s appearance. If it impedes the person’s access to social spaces or participation in activities, it can be considered an invisible disability.
Examples of conditions that sometimes qualify as invisible disabilities are:
Mental health conditions
Under the ADA, companies with 15 or more employees must make reasonable accommodations for a qualified job candidate with a disability. This could mean modifying a workplace, role, or task. But employers do not have to provide such accommodations if doing so causes their business “undue hardship.”
Critics argue that this grants employers too much power in deciding that an accommodation is unreasonable. And they cite it as one reason people with disabilities are more likely to be unemployed compared to people without disabilities.
Accessibility.com. (n.d.). Homepage.
ADA National Network. (n.d.). Reasonable accommodations in the workplace.
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