Plus, an inflation calculator and data on flooding 

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** How long do people wait for Social Security disability?
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People filed approximately 189,000 new applications for Social Security disability benefits last month. Hundreds of thousands of applications are pending review nationwide — and review times are growing in the wake of the pandemic. USAFacts has a new pair of data explorations on Social Security disability benefits ([link removed]) , processing delays, and some consequences of those wait times.
* Social Security disability benefits provide monthly monetary subsidies to people who cannot work for a year or more due to a physical or mental disability. These include an array of conditions, such as arthritis, bipolar disorder, and, in some cases, long COVID.

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* According to an internal investigation by the Social Security Administration (SSA), from April 2020 to March 2021, there were 15.9% fewer new disability applicants than the year before. However, the backlog of cases pending a review and decision grew, reaching a high of 973,000 initial applications in December 2022.

* New applicants in late 2022 waited longer for an initial decision than applicants at any other point in the past 14 years. From December 2019 to December 2022, the average wait time increased from four to seven months.

* Last September, the SSA issued a public letter remarking that the increased wait times on initial applications were causing financial hardships. Applicants receive no monetary assistance from the SSA while their requests are pending, and there are thresholds on what they can earn in the meantime. In 2021, that was typically $160 per month above the poverty line.

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* Applications are processed at state offices rather than one federal office, leading to uneven backlogs nationwide. For instance, in an average month in 2022, Florida’s backlog had 55,000 more unprocessed disability applications per month than in 2019. That’s a 156% increase.

This is one part of USAFacts’ unique look ([link removed]) at Social Security disability benefits. See part two on approval rates — nearly 4% of adults 18 to 64 received disability benefits in June of last year — right here ([link removed]) .

The rapid rise in fentanyl overdose deaths

Fentanyl overdose deaths in 2021 were more than 26 times higher than a decade prior. Fentanyl has been responsible for more than half of all yearly opioid overdose deaths since 2017. USAFacts has government data on rising fentanyl deaths ([link removed]) for comparisons of how they’ve increased since 1999, plus metrics on which states are hardest hit.
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* From 2010 to 2020, the rate of opioid prescriptions dispensed per 100 people fell nearly 47% from 81.3 to 43.3. In West Virginia, which had the nation's highest rate in 2010, it fell by 62%. Yet, as opioid prescriptions waned, overdose deaths from any opioid more than tripled during that time.

* When adjusted for population, West Virginia had 2021’s highest rate of fentanyl overdose deaths: 66 per 100,000 people. This was about 44% higher than Washington, DC, which had the nation’s second-highest rate. Of the nation’s 10 most-populated states, Ohio was the only one also in the top 10 of opioid overdose deaths.

* South Dakota had 2021’s lowest rate of fentanyl overdose deaths, with 3.7 per 100,000 residents.


Learn more in this article ([link removed]) .

Data behind the news

California is still grappling with deadly flooding as rain continues to hit the West Coast. Last fall, USAFacts tracked the nation’s most-expensive flooding incidents ([link removed]) by state.

Recently released December inflation numbers show that inflation might be slowing somewhat. For a refresher on how the nation measures and manages inflation, read this explainer ([link removed]) . Then track the value of a dollar over the decades with this inflation calculator ([link removed]) .

New year, new weekly fact quiz ([link removed]) .

One last fact
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The Defense Department spends more on contracts ([link removed]) than any other federal agency. The Pentagon spent $714 billion in 2020; about 61.5% of that ($439 billion) was through private contracts.

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