Working, receiving disability benefits, and access to mental health care in individuals with bipolar disorder.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to determine the extent to which people in a bipolar disorder (BPD) registry were working, factors associated with working and obtaining disability benefits, and the impact disability benefits have on work.

METHODS: We compared the socio-demographic, disease, treatment, and health insurance characteristics among three work disability groups - working, not working, and not working and receiving disability benefits - using a chi-square statistical test on categorical data, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) to compare means, and a Kruskal-Wallis non-parametric test of significance with skewed data.

RESULTS: Among 1,855 individuals, 49.4% reported they were working. Those working were younger, more frequently self-identified as Caucasian, were more highly educated, had a higher income, were more often married, had a shorter duration of illness, and reported the shortest illness duration, the lowest percentage of suicide attempts, and manic and mixed or rapid symptoms in the past 6 months compared to the two non-working groups. Working individuals least often reported receiving electroconvulsive therapy and being hospitalized and had the longest median duration since last hospitalization and the lowest percentage with treatment in the past 6 months. They were currently likelier to be treated by a primary care physician or other health professional than a psychiatrist compared to non-working groups. Finally, compared to the non-working groups, the working group had the highest percentage with no health insurance and private health insurance, the highest percentage using managed care, and the lowest percent under a fee-for-service plan. All work disability groups had similar perceptions of their mental health care plan in terms of the number of doctors or clinics from which to choose, the location of their health care providers, and the quality of mental health care. Those in the working group were least satisfied with the range of mental health services provided in their health plan.

CONCLUSIONS: Disability benefits are rarely awarded when a person is working. Moreover, receipt of disability benefits increases the likelihood that a person with BPD will be receiving health care benefits and, in many cases, those benefits provide greater access to treatment compared to health care insurance received through an employer. We conclude that the incentives to work run counter to access to treatment among people with BPD.