ACCESS TO public benefitS: SOCIAL INSURANCE

People have a right to access public benefits. Below you can find data sources to help determine your access levels.

Social insurance programs protect workers and their families against risks to economic security, such as loss of earnings or healthcare cost. Benefits received from social insurance programs are usually based on eligibility criteria such as age, employment status, or veteran status.

  • Social Security is a federal social insurance program that provides retirement benefits and disability income to qualified people and their spouses, children, and survivors. Almost all employment is covered by social security on some level; however, the amount of benefits reflects the amount of employee earnings. Employees pay into the program, typically through pay-withholding where they work. Years of work experience, or Average Indexed Monthly Earnings (AIME), determine eligibility. Anyone who is covered under Social Security can collect Social Security benefits after working enough years and reaching age 62, or becoming disabled. The official name of U.S. Social Security is Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI).

  • Health assistance, including Medicare and Medicaid, helps people access and pay for healthcare.

  • Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits provide temporary financial assistance to workers who are unemployed through no fault of their own.

SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION

Old Age, Survivors, & Disability Insurance OASDI Recipients provides downloadable county-level data for each state on the following:

  • Number of recipients (by eligibility category, retired, disabled, widowed, age, spouses, and children)

  • Amount of monthly payments

MEDICARE & MEDICAID

The U.S. Census Bureau provides county-level Medicare and other public health insurance coverage data, including:

  • Medicare coverage alone or in combination

  • Medicaid/means-tested public coverage alone or in combination

  • VA health care coverage alone or in combination

  • Coverage by other forms of public health insurance

  • Age of recipients

  • Recipients below or above poverty threshold

U.S. Census Instructions: Open Site > Scroll to Table 3 by State > Click Geos in the top toolbar > select County > Select your state > Select your county > X out of Geos > Minimize the left-hand side bar (shows 1 Result) by clicking the arrow icon > this allows you to see your county results.

You can select multiple counties at once. They will be displayed side by side. Some states have data available for County Subdivision. You can also view expanded data, such as Congressional District or Metropolitan/Micropolitan Statistical Area. To export data choose More Tools on the top right. You can choose to download your data in an Excel, CSV, or ZIP format.

The DHHS Medicare at Risk Populations is an interactive map from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, intended to inform emergency preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation of public health concerns. Data is downloadable in CSV format. The map displays ZIP code level data for:

  • Medicare beneficiaries who have had an administrative claim for 1 or more types of electricity-dependent durable medical & assistive equipment (DME) and devices, as well as at-risk combinations data for those who rely on certain essential health care services.

  • Many Medicare beneficiaries rely on DME and other devices to live independently. Severe weather and other emergencies, especially those with prolonged power outages, can be life-threatening for these individuals. See Vulnerability to Extreme Weather for more information.

  • Map shows near real-time natural hazard data layers to anticipate and address the needs of at-risk community members in emergencies.

UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE

Unemployment Insurance is a joint state-federal program that provides cash benefits to eligible workers. Each state administers a separate UI program, but all states follow federal law guidelines. States set additional requirements for eligibility, benefit amounts, maximum amount, and length of time benefits can be paid. Generally, benefits are based on a percentage of your earnings over a recent 52-week period. Benefits are subject to federal and most state income taxes and must be reported on income tax return.

The Century Foundation UI Data Dashboard displays state-level data on:

  • Percent of unemployed receiving UI benefits

  • Percent of claims that are denied

  • Average time for eligible workers to receive benefits, settle claims disputed by employers, and process decision appeals

  • Average and maximum unemployment benefit, as well as the percentage of employee wages replaced by these benefits (replacement rate)

  • The share of those unemployed collecting benefits, the number of recipients that exhaust benefits before finding a job

  • Methods for UI financing (data on whether state trust funds stack up to national standards, average tax rate on employers)

The Century Foundation UI Benefits Demographic Explorer allows users to compare differences in state populations by race with access and adequacy of unemployment benefits. For example, states with large Black populations pay out the least financially generous benefits.

  • Customizable state fact sheets are available for download.

  • Users can select state, measures/data indicators, & racial demographic.