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Social Security: Selective Face-to-Face Interviews With Disability Claimants Could Reduce Appeals

HRD-89-22 Published: Apr 20, 1989. Publicly Released: Apr 25, 1989.
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Highlights

In response to a congressional request, GAO provided information on certain aspects of the Social Security Administration's (SSA) appeals process, including: (1) the reasons for administrative law judges' (ALJ) high reversal rates for state disability determination services' (DDS) decisions; and (2) suggestions for improving the SSA appeal process.

Recommendations

Recommendations for Executive Action

Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Health and Human Services The Secretary of Health and Human Services should direct the Commissioner of Social Security to initiate a demonstration project that would include interviewing selected categories of claimants at the reconsideration stage. Such a project would differ from ongoing demonstration projects by focusing on those categories of claimants most likely to be approved by ALJ. By interviewing specific categories of claimants at the reconsideration stage, the number of such interviews could be kept manageable. Through quality assurance reviews of the resulting decisions at the reconsideration stage, SSA could determine whether the interviews were resulting in unwarranted benefit awards.
Closed – Implemented
SSA believes that its comprehensive pilot project removes the need for the recommended separate demonstration project. SSA's pilot project includes five models: (1) a disability specialist position; (2) a claim-intake interview performed by a decisionmaker; (3) a predenial interview; (4) a reconsideration model; and (5) elimination of reconsideration. The first model is under way in Wilmington, Delaware, to test the use of a disability specialist position.

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Topics

Administrative hearingsAdministrative law judgesAppeals processClaims reconsiderationsCompensation claimsDisability benefitsEligibility determinationsIncome maintenance programsSocial security benefitsState-administered programsSupplemental security income