Summary: During the past 30 years, blacks have been allowed benefits at consistently lower rates than whites under the Social Security Disability Insurance program. Under the Supplemental Security Income program, a similar racial difference has been apparent for at least the last 5 years. GAO studied the lower allowance rate among blacks and found that, within the general population, blacks were receiving benefits at a higher rate than whites; within the severely impaired population, blacks were receiving benefits at a rate comparable to that of whites. This is so notwithstanding the lower allowance rate among blacks who apply for benefits each year. For the most part, the lower black allowance rate in 1988 initial decisions for the two programs appears to be due to black applicants' having less severe impairments and being younger than whites. For Supplemental Security Income applicants aged 18 to 24, however, the racial difference in initial decisions was almost twice that of any other age group. The racial difference was largely unexplained by differences in severity and type of impairment or in demographic characteristics.
