Study finds link between drug abuse and government aid payments
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has an interesting study that examines the link between monthly government aid payments, such as Supplemental Security Security Income and Social Security Disability, and drug use.
The findings are eye opening, but I fear that some politicians may use the study results to argue for ending such aid.
Here's what the study found, in brief:
"Paying out certain types of government aid in a monthly lump sum appears to fuel a spate of harmful and often fatal drug binges, according to a new study in a forthcoming issue of the Journal of Public Economics that links the monthly arrival of disability checks with a sharp rise in drug related hospitalizations and deaths."
Given these results, researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz and Texas A&M University suggests that spreading out aid payments over several weeks might provide some relief to hopsitals and health care workers who treat these patients.
This findings shouldn't cause you to jump to the conclusion that all or even most recipients of SSI and SSDI spend their government checks on illegal drug binges. But there appears to be some correlation between the arrival of government aid checks and drug use among some recipients:
In California, a 23 percent increase in drug-related hospital admissions occurs in the first five days of the month
That increase is driven largely by the arrival of Supplemental Security Income and Social Security Disability Income payments
Hospital deaths among SSI recipients increases 22 percent at the beginning of the month.
Interestingly, the researchers found no correlation between welfare payments and drug-related hospitalizations and deaths.
“Our results suggest that ‘full wallets’ can exacerbate impulse control problems,” says author Steven L. Puller, PhD, with Texas A&M University.
The researchers, rather than suggesting an end to such aid, recommend that lawmakers “explore the possible benefits of an alternate means of disbursing cash aid payments," including paying benefits out in installments throughout the month. They also recommend identifying the “small subset of aid recipients” who account for most of the substance abuse hospitalizations and consider changing the bulk of their aid from cash payments to “in-kind” support such as food or housing assistance.
What do you think? Is this a good idea? Or would changing the method of aid payments hurt all SSI and SSDI recipients?