United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office Health, Education, and Human Services Division author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 1997-06-11 monographic deposited born digital 52 p. GA 1.13:HEHS-97-79 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-HEHS-97-79 P0b002ee180376af8 f:he97079 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-28 GAOREPORTS-HEHS-97-79 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-HEHS-97-79 HEHS-97-79 Customer service Telephone Human resources utilization Social security benefits Cost effectiveness analysis Centralization Cost control Government information dissemination Federal agency reorganization National Performance Review SSA Personal Earnings and Benefits Estimate Statement Medicare Program Supplemental Security Income Program Chapter Report HEHS

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Social Security Administration's (SSA) 800 number service, focusing on: (1) how well SSA's 800 number provides service to the public; and (2) what steps SSA needs to take to ensure that improvements to the 800 number are cost effective.<p/>GAO noted that: (1) although SSA's 800 number has consistently provided accurate and courteous service to the public, callers have had difficulty getting through; (2) to address this problem, in early 1996 SSA increased the number of representatives answering calls and implemented a new nationwide automated menu; (3) these efforts brought SSA closer to its goal of having 85 percent of callers get through to the 800 number within 5 minutes of their first attempt; (4) not all callers who got through actually spoke to a representative, however, or successfully used one of the automated service options; (5) moreover, SSA came close to accomplishing its goal largely by diverting SSA staff from work responsibilities unrelated to the 800 number; (6) SSA's plans include further increasing the percentage of callers who get through to the 800 number within 5 minutes and expanding the limited range of transactions that callers may complete using the 800-number service; (7) as 800-number and other workloads continue to grow, expanding services while maintaining access levels will challenge SSA; (8) SSA's plans do not sufficiently reflect lessons learned from the private and public sectors on cost-effectively improving 800-number service; (9) for example, SSA could save a significant amount of money by automating more of its routine transactions and by finding ways to verify callers' identities using automated features; (10) for those transactions deemed complex enough to require personal assistance, private-sector leaders in 800-number service save money and enhance service by locating their call agents at a few large centers; (11) in contrast, SSA maintains a large number of teleservice centers and has not developed a specific plan and timetable for reducing the number of these centers; (12) because SSA continues to offer customer service through its field offices, it needs to carefully consider how changes, such as expanding the range of transactions that callers may conduct or complete using the 800 number, fit into and affect SSA's overall service delivery strategy; (13) for example, SSA needs to compare the cost of conducting additional transactions using the 800 number with other service delivery methods to identify the most cost-effective approach; (14) SSA also needs to collect data for more fully assessing how quickly and completely the 800 number serves customers; and (15) by adopting the kind of 800-number in* https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-HEHS-97-79/html/GAOREPORTS-HEHS-97-79.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-HEHS-97-79/pdf/GAOREPORTS-HEHS-97-79.pdf GAO/HEHS-97-79 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-HEHS-97-79 Chapter Report GAO/HEHS-97-79; Social Security Administration: More Cost-Effective Approaches Exist to Further Improve 800-Number Service; Customer service Telephone Human resources utilization Social security benefits Cost effectiveness analysis Centralization Cost control Government information dissemination Federal agency reorganization National Performance Review SSA Personal Earnings and Benefits Estimate Statement Medicare Program Supplemental Security Income Program Title 42 Section 401et seq. 42 U.S.C. 401et seq.