ADMINISTRATION’S PROGRESS NEW CHALLENGES ARISING FROM RECESSION

The DDSs have seen a significant increase in the filing of initial disability claims which started in early FY 2009 as Baby Boomers predictably began to leave the workforce in their disability prone years and the nation began to experience the consequences of the economic downturn. As workers unexpectedly lost their jobs, they sought any other source of income, including Social Security disability benefits. Between the end of FY 2008 and the end of FY 2009, the number of initial claims has increased 14.8%. The total number of initial pending claims is expected to exceed one million by the end of FY 2010.

The full or partial furlough of DDS staff in several states has added additional hardship to processing the disability workload. These furloughs have continued despite the support of the Administration and the committed leadership and support of Commissioner Astrue to exempt these federally funded DDS employees from the furloughs. Currently there are thirteen (13) states with full or partial furloughs. These furloughs compromise efforts by DDS staff to allow claims, including extreme hardship claims, and the ability of the DDS to provide the necessary public service. A one (1) day furlough can cost a state like Ohio $345,000 in administrative funding and $149,900 in delayed monthly benefits while impacting 731 claims. In other cases, DDSs have not been able to optimize all the hiring authorized by SSA due to a state-imposed hiring freeze or state hiring delays.

SSA has requested significant funds to process the disability workloads and Congress has generously provided these funds. While the DDSs have worked to hire to optimal levels, the increasing complexity of the disability program criteria requires approximately 12-18 months of experience in the program for a disability examiner to become fully independent and productive. Therefore, hiring does not immediately translate to increased capacity and productivity. This initial learning curve, coupled with the current attrition in the DDSs (12.3 % annually) is a significant challenge for the state DDSs in maintaining a qualified and experienced workforce. Historically, despite limited resources, the DDSs have worked to provide the much needed public service. However, the rising number of applications and the limited ability to hire and retain qualified and trained staff will have significant negative impact for the DDSs and the public we serve.

SSA has, for the past few years, looked for ways to utilize technology to provide greater capacity and more efficient claim processing. The move to electronic claim processing was a significant task and one that came with some difficulty but much benefit to the disability claimant and to those components adjudicating disability claims. SSA has continued to request funds for technology and those funds have been and continue to be critical to ensuring the necessary capacity and capability to provide not only efficient but also high quality service to which the American public is entitled.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 19 — The House Ways & Means Committee issued the following testimony:

Statement of Ann P. Robert, Vice President, National Council of Disability Determination Directors, Springfield, Illinois

Testimony Before the Subcommittee on Social Security of the House Committee on Ways and Means

Chairman Tanner, Mr. Johnson, Members of the Subcommittee, my name is Ann Robert and I am honored to have this opportunity to appear on behalf of the National Council of Disability Determination Directors (NCDDD) to comment on the effect of SSA’s unprecedented backlog of disability claims, the agency’s efforts to address those challenges, the impact of the recession on disability claims processing, and the ongoing need for adequate resources to address these issues.

The National Council of Disability Determination Directors (NCDDD) is a professional association composed of the Directors and managers of the Disability Determination Services (DDS) agencies located in each state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. Collectively, members of the NCDDD are responsible for directing the activities of approximately 15,000 employees who process nearly 4 million claims per year for disability benefits under the Social Security Act. NCDDD goals focus on establishing, maintaining and improving fair, accurate, timely and cost-efficient decisions to persons applying for disability benefits. The mission of NCDDD is to provide the highest possible level of service to persons with disabilities, to promote the interests of the state operated DDSs and to represent DDS directors, their management teams and staff.

The DDSs are entirely federally funded by SSA and make medical determinations for the Social Security disability programs. The DDSs adjudicate various claim types including initial applications, reconsiderations, and continuing disability reviews. Many SSA executives have referred to the DDSs as the “best bang for the buck” in promoting governmental efficiency and effectiveness. NCDDD believes the Federal-State relationship is an important piece of the solution to addressing the increasing backlog of disability claims.

NCDDD appreciates the increases in SSA funding over the past few years and sincerely thanks Congress for the resources to assist the DDSs in providing the needed and necessary service to those Americans reaching out for help in desperate and difficult times. The recent funding increase has resulted in a decrease in the backlog and processing time at the hearings level. The DDSs received additional funding for overtime which they utilized for the Informal Remand process to assist ODAR with the backlog reduction.

Currently SSA has various initiatives combining policy and technology which have the potential to improve claim processing on several levels. The Disability Case Processing System (DCPS) is a SSA initiative partnering and collaborating with the States to design a case processing system to be used by all Disability Determination components. This case processing system should, when complete, provide a comprehensive process to produce efficiencies. DCPS must have sufficient infrastructure to provide a robust system that is stable, available, and responsive. DCPS should facilitate case processing not only in an individual DDS but when the need arises to assist with future workload challenges between Disability Determination components. The Quick Disability Determination/Compassionate Allowance (QDD/CAL) initiative is a process which allows the system to prioritize cases through technology providing for early identification of cases with a high potential of allowance thereby delivering expeditious service to those in desperate need. Another important but separate initiative of SSA is the Electronic Case Analysis Tool (eCAT). This tool can assist an examiner in working through a complex claim to reach the correct decision at the earliest point in the process. NCDDD supports each of these initiatives and will continue to work with SSA to further develop, refine, and roll out these processes.

SSA has begun planning for the potential to achieve greater capacity to address additional claims. The strategies are, necessarily, multifocal and involve both state and federal components. For example, SSA has funded four DDSs to create Expanded Service Teams (EST) to produce work as a separate entity and as a “national resource” with a yet to be finalized methodology as to how states will quality for assistance and how this process would impact productivity for any affected component.

The DDSs have a long and successful history of working cooperatively to assist with other workloads on an informal basis. With this background of success, the DDS community should be actively involved in all discussions to determine the best methodologies to provide assistance to any state while keeping in mind our primary focus of providing the best public service possible. Transferring work from state to state or to other components is both politically sensitive and frequently a technologically challenging venture that needs to be considered cautiously. Any plan to address the workload should be replete with appropriate mechanisms to assure accountability and consistency in decision-making regardless of which State Agency or federal disability component processes the claim. NCDDD will continue to advocate for DDS involvement in this plan and for a process that is well researched. NCDDD will assist in identifying and resolving potential problems or obstacles to ensure an efficient and effective process for those involved in this work flow process and those affected by it.

SSA is facing unprecedented increases in workload and requires an appropriate level of funding to continue to serve the American public with timely and accurate decisions, for both new applications and continuing disability reviews. SSA and the DDSs must receive adequate resources to provide necessary staffing, continue important initiatives, and provide a robust infrastructure that delivers the system stability and availability for claim processing. NCDDD stands ready to work cooperatively with the SSA in developing an efficient, consistent, and cost-effective operational plan that will ensure the success of addressing this unprecedented workload while continuing to provide quality public service and program stewardship. We would be remiss if we did not publicly acknowledge the outstanding and unwavering support that Commissioner Astrue has provided to the DDS community. His collaboration and partnership have been invaluable to the identification of solutions and successes in the disability process.

Mr. Chairman. On behalf of NCDDD, thank you again for the opportunity to provide this testimony. NCDDD has a long track record of success working with SSA to provide the highest level of service. I hope that this information is helpful to the Subcommittee. NCDDD is willing to provide any additional assistance you may need and I would be happy to answer any questions you may have.For more information please contact: Sarabjit Jagirdar,Email:- htsyndication@hindustantimes.com

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