Social Security Disability: SSA Has Had Mixed Success in Efforts to Improve Caseload Management Page: 3 of 26
This text is part of the collection entitled: Government Accountability Office Reports and was provided to UNT Digital Library by the UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Social Security Disability: SSA Has Had
Mixed Success in Efforts to Improve
Caseload Management
Messrs. Chairmen and Members of the Subcommittees:
Thank you for inviting me here today to discuss the Social Security
Administration's (ssA) management of its disability caseload. The nation's
two major federal disability programs, Disability Insurance (DI) and
Supplemental Security Income (ssI), provide an important economic safety
net for individuals and families. Last year, about 11 million people received
$77 billion in benefits from these programs. Yet both programs have long
suffered from a set of serious problems. The process of applying for
benefits is complex and can confuse or frustrate the applicants. Also, SSA
has a backlog of applications and appealed cases, and people often have to
wait as long as a year for a final decision on their eligibility. Moreover,
there are concerns about the fairness of the decision-making process
because of the high percentage of applicants who are initially denied
benefits and then, upon appeal, are approved. Finally, once people begin
receiving benefits, SSA's reviews to determine whether these beneficiaries
continue to be eligible have been inadequate.
SSA, as the agency responsible for administering these disability programs,
has recognized and taken action to address these problems. In 1994, the
agency embarked on an ambitious plan to fundamentally overhaul the
disability claims process. Since then, SSA has tested a number of significant
process changes and has taken other steps intended to provide the public
with better service, reduce the work backlog, and improve the consistency
of decisions. SSA has also taken steps to catch up on overdue reviews to
determine whether individuals remain eligible for their benefits over time.
Now that several years have elapsed since SSA began these efforts, you
asked us to assess its progress. Today I will discuss (1) the status of SSA's
efforts to improve its claims process, (2) lessons learned from the agency's
efforts to date that can be applied to its current and future claims
processing improvement plans, and (3) SSA's efforts to review the
continuing eligibility of its beneficiaries. The information I am providing
today is based primarily on our published reports (see the list of related
GAO products at the end of this statement).
In summary, SSA is only just beginning to make headway on improving its
claims process but has been far more successful in catching up on overdue
eligibility review of current beneficiaries. It is vital that SSA tackle its
claims process problems now, before the agency is hit with another surge
in workload as the baby boomers reach their disability-prone years.GAO/T-HEHS-00-22
Page 1
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This text can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Text.
United States. General Accounting Office. Social Security Disability: SSA Has Had Mixed Success in Efforts to Improve Caseload Management, text, October 21, 1999; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc290037/m1/3/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.