The financial cost of disability is a policy crisis hiding in plain sight.
Our research found that people with disabilities spend 20% of household income on costs that non-disabled Americans never face — medical equipment, home modifications, personal assistance, and more.
of household income spent on disability-related costs
report at least one unmet need
About
The Disability Squeeze is a research and policy initiative led by Dr. Zach Morris (Associate Professor at Stony Brook University) documenting the financial costs of disability and translating findings into policy recommendations.
Dr. Morris co-chairs The Disability Squeeze Working Group with Dr. Jody Schimmel-Hyde (University of Michigan) at the Disability Economic Policy Research Consortium, a project of the National Academy of Social Insurance and the Roosevelt Institute.
In collaboration with researchers at:
Stony Brook University
Syracuse University
Johns Hopkins University
University of Tennessee
University of Michigan
RAND Corporation
Mathematica Policy Research
American Foundation for the Blind
Center for Inclusive Policy
In the news
- Feb 2026
-
Feb 2026
What Higher Costs Mean in Everyday Life
ABLE News
-
Dec 2025
New Options for Disability Savings Accounts
New York Times
- Oct 2024
-
2024
Inflation’s Impact on Social Security Disability Program Beneficiaries
NBER Bulletin on Retirement and Disability
- Mar 2021
Research
Featured publication
The Disability Squeeze: Out-of-Pocket Expenses and Unmet Needs for Disability-Related Goods and Services in the U.S.
Results from a three-year NIDILRR-funded study of a nationally representative sample of adults with disabilities found that people with disabilities spend an average of 20% of household income on disability-related expenses, and 67% report at least one unmet need. Impacts are disproportionate among those from underserved communities.
Disability Squeeze project
- The Extra Costs of Living with Blindness or Low Vision
- The Disability Squeeze: How Unmet Needs and Out-of-Pocket Costs Impede Work for People with Disabilities
- Inflation’s Impact on Social Security Disability Program Beneficiaries
Related publications
- Rennane, S., & Morris, Z. (2025). A Comparative Analysis of Self-Identification and Functional Measures of Disability. Disability and Health Journal, 101980.
- Banks, L.M., Morris, Z., et al. (2025). Estimating the magnitude and scope of disability-related direct costs: a systematised review. The European Journal of Health Economics, 1-17.
- Morris, Z., McGarity, S., Goodman, N., & Zaidi, A. (2022). The extra costs associated with living with a disability in the United States. Journal of Disability Policy Studies, 33(3), 158-167. doi.org/10.1177/10442073211043521
- Morris, Z. & Zaidi, A. (2020). Estimating the extra costs of disability in European countries. Journal of European Social Policy, 30(3), 339-354. doi.org/10.1177/0958928719891317
- Morris, Z., Zaidi, A., & McGarity, S. (2021). The extra costs associated with a cognitive impairment: Estimates from 15 OECD countries. European Journal of Public Health, 31(3), 647-652. doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckab011
- Savin, K., Morris, Z., Wise, M., & Marinoff, R. (2024). Navigating the costs of work and ableism with visual impairment. Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation.
- Mont, D., Banks, L., Morris, Z., et al. (2023). Methods for estimating the impact of disability costs for designing inclusive policies. Disabilities, 3(4), 539-549.
Podcast archive
- 9
- 8
- 7
- 6
- 5
- 4
- 2
-
1
What Is The Disability Squeeze?
Jan 2025
Get in touch
I’d love to hear from people with lived experience of disability-related costs. Whether you want to share your story, connect about research, or discuss policy, feel free to reach out.
zachary.morris [at] stonybrook.edu