Snook S H, Webster B S
Clin Orthop Relat Res. 1987 Aug(221):77-84.
Approximately 16.5% of the adult population in the United States is disabled. About half of the disabled are severely limited and unable to work regularly. Musculoskeletal disorders are the most frequent type of disability. In the United States, there are three major types of disability insurance: Social Security Disability Insurance (a federal program), Workers' Compensation Insurance (usually a state-regulated program), and private health insurance. Recent years have seen a greater demand for private long-term disability insurance, as the trend increases toward less than total reliance on public programs to support disabled workers. The most recent statistics available indicate that Social Security Disability Insurance benefits are currently about $16.8 billion per year; workers' compensation benefits, $16.1 billion; and private disability income protection benefits, $5.2 billion. These figures add up to almost $40 billion in insurance costs. However, insurance costs are only part of the total cost because not everyone is covered by insurance, and insurance does not cover all disabilities. Disability can never be totally prevented or eliminated, but disability and its costs can be substantially reduced through more effective treatment and rehabilitation, including patient education and vocational rehabilitation.
美国约16.5%的成年人口存在残疾问题。约一半的残疾人有严重的行动受限情况，无法正常工作。肌肉骨骼疾病是最常见的残疾类型。在美国，有三种主要的残疾保险：社会保障残疾保险（一项联邦计划）、工伤保险（通常是由州监管的计划）以及私人医疗保险。近年来，对私人长期残疾保险的需求不断增加，因为人们越来越倾向于减少对公共计划的完全依赖，以支持残疾工人。现有最新统计数据表明，目前社会保障残疾保险福利每年约为168亿美元；工伤赔偿福利为161亿美元；私人残疾收入保障福利为52亿美元。这些数字加起来，保险成本接近400亿美元。然而，保险成本只是总成本的一部分，因为并非所有人都有保险覆盖，而且保险也不能涵盖所有残疾情况。残疾永远无法完全预防或消除，但通过更有效的治疗和康复，包括患者教育和职业康复，可以大幅降低残疾及其成本。
