United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2001-05-04 monographic deposited born digital 39 p. GA 1.13:GAO-01-367 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-367 P0b002ee180391a1f f:d01367 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-28 GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-367 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-367 GAO-01-367 Disability insurance Federal social security programs Social security benefits Workers compensation Overpayments Underpayments Interagency relations Reporting requirements State programs Medicare Program HUD Section 8 Certificate Program HUD Section 8 Voucher Program Supplemental Security Income Program Old Age Survivors and Disability Insurance Program Food Stamp Program Other Written Product A00954 This report focuses on how benefit programs administered by the Social Security Administration (SSA) and other agencies are affected by workers' compensation (WC) benefits. GAO (1) examined the effects of WC benefits on SSA programs, focusing on SSA's progress in administering the WC offset provision, (2) discussed other federal programs whose benefit payments are also affected by WC benefits, and (3) discussed options for addressing federal benefit payment errors related to workers' compensation. GAO found that SSA's administration of the WC offset provision continues to be undermined by the lack of reliable information identifying the receipt of WC benefits by Social Security Disability Insurance (DI) beneficiaries, causing some beneficiaries to be overpaid and others to be underpaid. No national reporting system identifies WC beneficiaries. Instead, SSA largely relies on applicants and beneficiaries to report their receipt of WC benefits and any changes that occur in the benefit amounts--an approach that makes it very difficult for SSA to make accurate benefit payments. Other federal agencies also need WC information to make accurate benefit payments, and face similar difficulties identifying WC beneficiaries. Like SSA, Medicare relies on its applicants and beneficiaries to self-report WC benefits and is vulnerable to payment errors when they do not. In addition, food stamp programs and Section 8 rental housing assistance consider WC benefits as income or assets, and an inability to obtain information on such benefits could affect the accuracy of benefit payments. There are ways to address the difficulty of reliably identifying WC beneficiaries. However, the fragmented structure of WC programs and the lack of federal involvement in state WC programs defy a simple solution. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-367/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-367.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-367/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-367.pdf GAO-01-367 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-367 Other Written Product GAO-01-367; Workers' Compensation: Action Needed to Reduce Payment Errors in SSA Disability and Other Programs; Disability insurance Federal social security programs Social security benefits Workers compensation Overpayments Underpayments Interagency relations Reporting requirements State programs Medicare Program HUD Section 8 Certificate Program HUD Section 8 Voucher Program Supplemental Security Income Program Old Age Survivors and Disability Insurance Program Food Stamp Program