OIG Reports on Outlier ALJs
There has been lots of press in the past several months about the Social Security disability programs, much of which has focused on ALJ approval and denial rates. Read More
GAO Issues Preliminary Report on SSA's Modernization Programs
The General Accountability Office (GAO) issued a preliminary report this month on SSA’s attempts to keep up with the times in terms of its medical and occupational criteria. The GAO designated SSA as “high-risk” as far back as 2003, in part because SSA “programs emphasize medical conditions in assessing work capacity without adequate consideration of work opportunities afforded by advances in medicine, technology, and job demands.” Read More
How Fit Is Fit?
In a recent report, SSA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) concluded that the Findings Integrated Template (FIT) hearing decision template instituted to address quality issues in ALJ decisions, notably legal error or poorly articulated rationale, has helped provided consistency and uniformity in decision; improvements, however, are possible. Read More
OIG Studies Dismissal Rates
SSA’s regulations governing dismissals clearly provide that the claimant should have an opportunity to demonstrate good cause for failure to appear before a claim is dismissed. 20 C.F.R. §§ 404.957 and 416.1457. That does not always happen, according to both the experience of advocates and the recent findings of the Office of Inspector General (OIG) of the Social Security Administration. Read More
Study Analyzes Social Security Benefits and Women
Did you know that more women than men receive Social Security (24.8 million women, compared to 18.9 million men in December 2004)? Read More
The General Accountability Office (GAO) or other governmental or not for profit organizations periodically issue reports on topics dealing with SSA’s disability programs.