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This study was prepared by the staff of the Human
Resources and Community Development Division of the Congressional Budget
Office under the supervision of Nancy M. Gordon, Assistant Director for
Human Resources and Community Development. Questions regarding the analysis
may be addressed to Marilyn Moon.
This study examines the cumulative effects on the elderly of changes in income security programs, both those enacted for 1982 and those proposed for 1983 in the Administration's 1983 budget. Program changes examined here include those in Supplemental Security Income (SSI), food stamps, and subsidized housing. The cumulative effects are illustrated by simulating the impact of these program changes on example households for January 1983. In addition, the impact of changes in Medicaid and Medicare are discussed separately.
The major findings of this study are:
The cumulative effects of the proposed changes vary considerably depending upon the characteristics of the example households. Thus SSI reductions modeled here would only affect newly eligible beneficiaries who have some other income. Also, housing assistance changes would be implemented more rapidly for newly assisted tenants.
The study has, however, three major limitations that should be considered when assessing these results. First, these are example households, chosen to illustrate particular aspects of program changes; they may not be representative of all elderly households. Second, by assuming that the example households participate in all available programs, the findings may overstate the reductions faced by low-income households in general. Finally, not all changes in the programs have been modeled. In most cases, the omitted changes would have small effects, but when taken together the omissions lead to an understatement of benefit reductions.
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