Financial hardship experienced by people with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic

BACKGROUND: People with disabilities are poorer and more financially insecure than nondisabled people. While people with disabilities were adversely affected by the pandemic and were more likely to experience poverty prior to the pandemic, less is known about their experiences with financial hardship during the pandemic. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to explore the financial hardship of people with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic, including differences with nondisabled people and those based on people with disabilities’ sociodemographics. METHODS: We analyzed Household Pulse Survey data from 52,890 adults (18+) with disabilities and 391,532 nondisabled adults using complex samples descriptive statistics and binary logistic regressions. RESULTS: During the Delta and first Omicron waves of the COVID-19 pandemic, 52.0% of people with disabilities had difficulty paying usual household expenses. People with disabilities were 2.78 times more likely to experience financial hardship during the pandemic than nondisabled people. People with disabilities’ most common sources of income/funds for spending needs included: regular income sources (66.7%); credit cards or loans (36.6%); money from savings or selling assets or possessions (31.5%); and borrowing from friends or family (22.0%). CONCLUSIONS: A significant proportion of adults with disabilities experienced financial hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic, including at greater rates than nondisabled adults. Financial hardship can have long lasting impacts upon people with disabilities, including on their physical and mental health, well-being, and overall quality of life.