NEWS for North Dakotans
Agriculture Communication, North Dakota State University
7 Morrill Hall, Fargo, ND 58105-5665
August 24, 2000
North Dakotans received nearly $2.29 billion in transfer payments in 1998, an increase of 1.7 percent from the $2.26 billion paid in 1997 according to the recent release of the Economic Brief from the North Dakota State Data Center at North Dakota State University. Transfer payments are income received by individuals for which they did not render services. They are payments by government and business to individuals and nonprofit institutions.
Retirement and disability payments accounted for slightly less than half the total transfers paid directly to individual North Dakotans in 1998. Retirement payments amounted to $1.07 billion, an increase of 2.8 percent from the $1.04 billion in 1997. Medical payments (consisting of Medicare, medical vendor payments, and military medical payments) accounted for 38 percent of the state’s total transfers to individuals. Slightly more than $828 million was paid to North Dakotans in 1998 in medical payments, an increase of 1.9 percent from the $813 million paid in 1997.
"Medical payments are the fastest growing portion of federal transfer payments," said Richard Rathge, director of the Center. "Between 1991 and 1998, medical payments have risen 54 percent. In contrast, retirement and disability payments and income maintenance programs each have risen by less than 35 percent. Rising costs of health care, especially for the elderly account for the significant jump," said Rathge.
Income maintenance programs (such as supplementary security income, AFDC, and food stamps) comprised the third largest category of individual transfer payments accounting for 6.4 percent of the state’s individual transfers. Income maintenance payments declined to $141 million in 1998, a decrease of 3.5 percent from the 1997 level.
The remaining 6.7 percent of North Dakota’s individual transfers included unemployment insurance benefit payments, veterans benefit payments, and federal education training and assistance payments.
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Source: Richard Rathge (701) 231-8621
Editor: Tom Jirik (701) 231-9629
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