Impact of early intervention programs for persons with potentially disabling conditions: Evidence from the national DMIE evaluation

Using random assignment, this study examined whether a program of enhanced medical care and employment supports can improve the health status, employment, and disability outcomes of working adults with potentially disabling conditions. Using federal data from the Social Security Administration and participant survey data, we analyzed the impact of program interventions on employment, earnings, and disability. We compared unadjusted mean outcomes between treatment and control groups one year after enrollment. We also used multivariate analyses to estimate regression-adjusted impacts on the likelihood of applying for disability benefits, employment, and earnings after controlling for baseline participant characteristics. We found that the pooled treatment group across all four states was less likely to have a federal disability application one year after enrollment (3.9 percent versus 5.3 percent) and a higher level of income ($15,972 versus $14,536) relative to the control group. Both effects were statistically significant at the 5 percent level. We also found that the treatment group had a higher share of participants employed (94.4 percent versus 87.1 percent), but this difference was not statistically significant. An early intervention program of medical care and employment supports that is focused on working adults with potentially disabling conditions was shown to improve the health status of participants and reduce the likelihood of applying for federal disability. These findings suggest that disability can be prevented or delayed with a well-designed program that includes both health and employment supports for individuals.