Disability Insurance: Broader Management Focus Needed to Better Control
Caseload (Testimony, 05/23/95, GAO/T-HEHS-95-164).

Rising numbers of applicants for disability benefits have increased
workloads at the Social Security Administration (SSA) and lead to
growing backlogs of claims.  As a result, applicants are waiting longer
to find out if they have been awarded benefits.  Applicants wait almost
90 days to learn whether they have been awarded benefits, while persons
who appeal their claims to SSA's administrative law judges wait more
than a year.  These long waits can impose substantial hardship on
applicants, particularly those with limited incomes and no medical
insurance. SSA has undertaken several short-term initiatives to address
the backlog problem.  It has also begun a long-term effort to redesign
its disability determination process.  GAO shares congressional concerns
that these changes may sacrifice decisional accuracy for faster
processing.  SSA is also addressing its workload increases while dealing
with substantial resource constraints.  Nonetheless, SSA needs to focus
more attention on terminating benefits for those who are no longer
eligible and encouraging beneficiaries to return to work.  SSA, now an
independent agency, also needs to provide more data and advice to
Congress on matters affecting disability insurance policy.

--------------------------- Indexing Terms -----------------------------

 REPORTNUM:  T-HEHS-95-164
     TITLE:  Disability Insurance: Broader Management Focus Needed to 
             Better Control Caseload
      DATE:  05/23/95
   SUBJECT:  Supplemental security income
             Disability insurance
             Vocational rehabilitation
             Eligibility determinations
             Social security benefits
             Handicapped persons
             Beneficiaries
             Aid for training or employment
IDENTIFIER:  Social Security Disability Insurance Program
             Supplemental Security Income Program
             Medicare Program
             Social Security Disability Insurance Trust Fund
             Medicaid Program
             SSA Project Network
             
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