The CDC is still investigating who gets long Covid and how those symptoms impact individuals. Watch the full story here.
disability benefits
People with Disabilities Left Behind During COVID-19
People with disabilities were disproportionately affected during the pandemic in unemployment and social isolation, and faced additional difficulties when applying for federal benefits.
Going forward, advocates stress the importance of accurately measuring the effect of the pandemic’s financial, social, and emotional losses through improved data collection.
Read the full story here.
Arizonans: Share Your Story About Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
The Arizona Daily Star and ProPublica want to hear about your experiences with intellectual and developmental disabilities services. Join storytelling coaches, journalists and the Detour Company Theatre on July 8 to get involved.
Read the full article here: https://https://www.propublica.org/article/arizonans-share-your-story-about-intellectual-and-developmental-disabilities-at-our-virtual-event
More Americans Have Disabilities, Survey Finds
One in four Americans is disabled, according to a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey released Thursday “At some point in their lives, most people will either have a disability or know someone who has a one,” Coleen Boyle, director of CDC’s National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, said in a written statement. Read Binghui Huang’s story here. 
Rates of unemployment due to disability finally declining after years of upward trend
Former U.S. Treasury economist Ernie Tedeschi wrote a guest column for the New York Times analyzing recent labor force employment data. Tedeschi sourced his information from the Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey and discovered promising signs that people with disabilities are returning to the labor force. Check out Tedeschi’s full report in NYT and readers’ comments about why the trend is occurring.
Washington Post debuts multi-part series about disability benefits
Yesterday The Washington Post debuted a five-part series about federal disability benefits their growth in rural communities. The story summary explains “Between 1996 and 2015, the number of working-age adults receiving federal disability payments increased significantly across the country, but nowhere more so than in rural America. In this series, The Washington Post explores how disability is shaping the culture, economy and politics of these small communities.”
Applicants for disability benefits facing multi-year delays
The Social Security Administration faces a growing backlog of applications for disability benefits. Budget cuts have left the agency understaffed and slow to hold hearings with administrative judges responsible for reviewing cases.
“The average wait for a hearing is 602 days. Five years ago, it was less than a year,” writes reporter Stephen Ohlemacher for the Associated Press/Denver Post. Click here to read his full article.
Social Security disability backlog tops 1 million; thousands die on waitlist
The New York Times: An Oasis of Care for People with Intellectual Disabilities
Parents have long struggled to find compassionate health care for adult children with profound disabilities. Those in Kentucky now have a place to go. Read more.
The Hill
House approves new savings accounts for people with disabilities
The House has passed legislation to create tax-free savings accounts for people with disabilities. Passed by a vote of 404-17, the bill known as the ABLE Act is intended to help Americans with disabilities pay for the associated expenses, including medical costs and finding employment. Read more
The New York Times
Ex-Police Officer Pleads Guilty to Playing Role in a Disability Fraud Scheme
A former New York City police officer pleaded guilty to charges of defrauding the Social Security Administration on Wednesday. Prosecutors said Joseph Esposito helped police officers, firefighters and other city workers obtain disability benefits by faking mental illnesses. Read more.