Download or read book SSA Disability Decision Making written by E. Robertson Robert and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 2004-03 with total page 84 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Historically, the proportion of the Social Security Administration's (SSA) disability benefits claims that were approved has been lower for African-Americans than for whites. In 1992, GAO found that racial differences, largely at the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) level, could not be completely explained by factors related to the decisionmaking process. This report examines how race & other factors influence ALJ decisions & assesses SSA's ability to ensure the accuracy & fairness of ALJ decisions. GAO also makes recommendations for way that SSA can enhance its ALJ quality assurance reviews. Charts & tables.
Download or read book Improving the Social Security Disability Decision Process written by Institute of Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2007-06-14 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Social Security Administration (SSA) provides Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits to disabled persons of less than full retirement age and to their dependents. SSA also provides Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments to disabled persons who are under age 65. For both programs, disability is defined as a "medically determinable physical or mental impairment" that prevents an individual from engaging in any substantial gainful activity and is expected to last at least 12 months or result in death. Assuming that an applicant meets the nonmedical requirements for eligibility (e.g., quarters of covered employment for SSDI; income and asset limits for SSI), the file is sent to the Disability Determination Services (DDS) agency operated by the state in which he or she lives for a determination of medical eligibility. SSA reimburses the states for the full costs of the DDSs. The DDSs apply a sequential decision process specified by SSA to make an initial decision whether a claim should be allowed or denied. If the claim is denied, the decision can be appealed through several levels of administrative and judicial review. On average, the DDSs allow 37 percent of the claims they adjudicate through the five-step process. A third of those denied decide to appeal, and three-quarters of the appeals result in allowances. Nearly 30 percent of the allowances made each year are made during the appeals process after an initial denial. In 2003, the Commissioner of Social Security announced her intent to develop a "new approach" to disability determination. In late 2004, SSA asked the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to help in two areas related to its initiatives to improve the disability decision process: 1) Improvements in the criteria for determining the severity of impairments, and 2) Improvements in the use of medical expertise in the disability decision process. This interim report provides preliminary recommendations addressing the three tasks that relate to medical expertise issues, with a special focus on the appropriate qualifications of medical and psychological experts involved in disability decision making. After further information gathering and analyses of the effectiveness of the disability decision process in identifying those who qualify for benefits and those who do not, the committee may refine its recommendations concerning medical and psychological expertise in the final report. The final report will address a number of issues with potential implications for the qualifications of the medical experts involved in the disability decision process.
Download or read book Psychological Testing in the Service of Disability Determination written by Institute of Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2015-06-29 with total page 233 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The United States Social Security Administration (SSA) administers two disability programs: Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), for disabled individuals, and their dependent family members, who have worked and contributed to the Social Security trust funds, and Supplemental Security Income (SSSI), which is a means-tested program based on income and financial assets for adults aged 65 years or older and disabled adults and children. Both programs require that claimants have a disability and meet specific medical criteria in order to qualify for benefits. SSA establishes the presence of a medically-determined impairment in individuals with mental disorders other than intellectual disability through the use of standard diagnostic criteria, which include symptoms and signs. These impairments are established largely on reports of signs and symptoms of impairment and functional limitation. Psychological Testing in the Service of Disability Determination considers the use of psychological tests in evaluating disability claims submitted to the SSA. This report critically reviews selected psychological tests, including symptom validity tests, that could contribute to SSA disability determinations. The report discusses the possible uses of such tests and their contribution to disability determinations. Psychological Testing in the Service of Disability Determination discusses testing norms, qualifications for administration of tests, administration of tests, and reporting results. The recommendations of this report will help SSA improve the consistency and accuracy of disability determination in certain cases.
Download or read book Improving the Social Security Disability Decision Process written by Institute of Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2005-12-21 with total page 156 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Institute of Medicine (IOM) Committee on Improving the Disability Decision Process has been working since it first met in January 2005 to develop recommendations to the Social Security Administration (SSA) on how to improve the medical aspects of its disability determination process. By law, Social Security can only pay benefits to those unable to engage in substantial gainful activity because of a "medically determinable physical or mental impairment which can be expected to result in death or which has lasted or can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than 12 months (emphasis added)." Medical and psychological expertise is critical both in developing the criteria for measuring the severity and functional impact of an impairment or impairments on an applicant's ability to work and in applying the criteria to individual cases where the medical evidence does not clearly meet the criteria in the eyes of a nonmedical disability examiner.
Download or read book The Social Security Administration s Disability Decision Process written by Institute of Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 1998-06-27 with total page 50 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Cardiovascular Disability written by Institute of Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2010-12-04 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Social Security Administration (SSA) uses a screening tool called the Listing of Impairments to identify claimants who are so severely impaired that they cannot work at all and thus immediately qualify for benefits. In this report, the IOM makes several recommendations for improving SSA's capacity to determine disability benefits more quickly and efficiently using the Listings.
Download or read book SSA Disability Decision Making written by United States. General Accounting Office and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 2002 with total page 31 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Social Security Disability written by United States. General Accounting Office and published by . This book was released on 1997 with total page 80 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Social Security Disability written by Cynthia A. Bascetta and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 1998-12 with total page 80 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Each year, about 2.5 million people apply to the Social Security Admin. (SSA) for disability benefits. Disability determination services, which are state agencies that conduct disability determinations on behalf of SSA, award benefits to about 35 out of every 100 of these applicants. This report evaluates the SSA's decision-making process for disability determinations & assesses its efforts to improve the process. Reports on factors that contribute to differences between disability determination services & administrative law judges decisions & the SSA's actions to make decisions in initial & appealed cases more consistent. Tables.
Download or read book Improving the Social Security Disability Decision Process written by Committee on Improving the Disability Decision Process: SSA's Listing of Impairments and Agency Access to Medical Expertise and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2005-12-21 with total page 147 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Institute of Medicine (IOM) Committee on Improving the Disability Decision Process has been working since it first met in January 2005 to develop recommendations to the Social Security Administration (SSA) on how to improve the medical aspects of its disability determination process. By law, Social Security can only pay benefits to those unable to engage in substantial gainful activity because of a "medically determinable physical or mental impairment which can be expected to result in death or which has lasted or can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than 12 months (emphasis added)." Medical and psychological expertise is critical both in developing the criteria for measuring the severity and functional impact of an impairment or impairments on an applicant's ability to work and in applying the criteria to individual cases where the medical evidence does not clearly meet the criteria in the eyes of a nonmedical disability examiner.
Download or read book The Dynamics of Disability written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2002-08-16 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Society Security disability program faces urgent challenges: more people receiving benefits than ever before, the prospect of even more claimants as baby boomers age, changing attitudes culminating in the Americans With Disabilities Act. Disability is now understood as a dynamic process, and Social Security must comprehend that process to plan adequately for the times ahead. The Dynamics of Disability provides expert analysis and recommendations in key areas: Understanding the current social, economic, and physical environmental factors in determining eligibility for disability benefits. Developing and implementing a monitoring system to measure and track trends in work disability. Improving the process for making decisions on disability claims. Building Social Security's capacity for conducting needed research. This book provides a wealth of detail on the workings of the Social Security disability program, recent and emerging disability trends, issues and previous experience in researching disability, and more. It will be of primary interest to federal policy makers, the Congress, and researchersâ€"and it will be useful to state disability officials, medical and rehabilitation professionals, and the disability community.
Download or read book Rulings written by United States. Social Security Administration and published by . This book was released on 1984 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Social security rulings on federal old-age, survivors, disability, and supplemental security income; and black lung benefits.
Download or read book SSA Disability Decision Making written by United States. General Accounting Office and published by . This book was released on 2003 with total page 73 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Ssa Disability Decision Making written by United States Government Accountability Office and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2017-10-21 with total page 80 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: SSA Disability Decision Making: Additional Steps Needed to Ensure Accuracy and Fairness of Decisions at the Hearing Level
Download or read book Reviewing Your Disability written by and published by . This book was released on 1998 with total page 2 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Pain and Disability written by Institute of Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 1987-01-01 with total page 318 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Painâ€"it is the most common complaint presented to physicians. Yet pain is subjectiveâ€"it cannot be measured directly and is difficult to validate. Evaluating claims based on pain poses major problems for the Social Security Administration (SSA) and other disability insurers. This volume covers the epidemiology and physiology of pain; psychosocial contributions to pain and illness behavior; promising ways of assessing and measuring chronic pain and dysfunction; clinical aspects of prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation; and how the SSA's benefit structure and administrative procedures may affect pain complaints.
Download or read book Nolo s Guide to Social Security Disability written by David A. Morton and published by NOLO. This book was released on 2003 with total page 592 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Social Security disability is an enormous program, with hundreds of thousands of people participating each year. Consequently, it's easy for both participants and first-time applicants to get lost in the system's bureaucracy.Nolo's Guide to Social Security Disability is an essential book for anyone dealing with a long-term or permanent disability. Written both for first-time applicants and those who already receive Social Security disability, Dr. David Morton's book demystifies the program in plain English, thoroughly explaining:* what Social Security disability is* what benefits are available to disabled children* how to prove a disability* how age, education and work experience affect benefits* whether or not one can work while receiving benefits* how to appeal a denial of benefits* how to respond to a Continuing Disability Review* and much more
