An investigation being commissioned by the Social Security Administration is looking to answer the question – why are some judges approving so many Disability claims while other are approving so few?
Roughly 1,500 administrative-law judges throughout the country hear appeals for Social Security cases, and a recent study of their decisions shows an apparent difference in their standards for decision-making on Social Security Disability claims.
According to a recent report in the Wall Street Journal, one judge in Houston awarded benefits in only 13 percent of his cases last year, while another judge in Kingsport, Tenn., saw fit to award benefits in 99 percent of the cases he heard.
Social Security judges, who essentially are employees of the Social Security Administration appointed for life, hear appeals cases that have been denied twice before at the state level.
The Social Security Disability Insurance program is designed to offer financial and health-care benefits to Americans who are unable to work. Some 10.6 million Americans are expected to receive $130 billion in benefits in 2011.
Facing a crush of new applications each year, in addition to 771,318 applicants in the backlog in 2011, the SSDI program could run out of funds by 2017 under its current system.
The new independent review of the Social Security Administration, to be led by the Administrative Conference of the United States, will suggest ways that can not only make the appeals process based more on merit for those truly in need, but also save the SSA millions of dollars by denying more claims that are unfounded.
In one such step already being implemented, applicants at this stage of the appeals process are no longer being informed beforehand of the judge in their case. This is designed to prevent SSDI applicants and their attorneys from shopping around to find a judge more likely to approve the claim.
Another focus of the study, looking to reduce redundancy in the Social Security process, will attempt to suss out why so many federal courts – which represent the next higher level in the appeals process – are overturning decisions by Social Security judges who deny benefits to applicants.
The findings of the study won’t bring immediate changes when they are issued next November, but could serve as a blueprint for Congress or the Social Security Administration to issue new rules.