After you’ve filed a Social Security Disability (SSD) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) claim with the Social Security Administration (SSA) your local Social Security office will evaluate the non-medical and technical aspects of the claim. If you meet the technical requirements for one of the benefit programs your claim will be transferred to a state disability agency for a medical determination. In Minnesota and many other states the state agency is called Disability Determination Services (DDS).
There is at least one DDS office per state used to evaluate the SSD and SSI claims. Each office has trained examiners that use the SSA’s rules to determine if the claimants meet the medical requirements for disability. Each of the DDS offices are federally funded.
DDS is responsible for requesting and reviewing medical reports from the medical providers listed on your application. If the DDS examiner working on your claim decides that more information is necessary to make a determination, you will be asked to attend a consultative examination. These examinations are paid for by the SSA. The doctor at this examination will write up a report following your appointment and submit that report to DDS for review.
The DDS office also sends out various questions for the claimant to complete. The most common questionnaires are the Work History Report and Function Report. The Work History Report asks for information regarding your employment history for the past fifteen years. The Function Report focuses on how your conditions affect your daily activities. There are other questionnaires that the examiner may feel are necessary for evaluating your claim. A few examples are the migraine, pain or seizure questionnaires.
The examiner will then use your medical reports, consultative examination report (if requested), and the questionnaires you’ve completed to make a decision. The decision will be sent to your local Social Security office and then mailed off to you and, if you are being represented on your claim, to your representative. If your claim has been approved your local Social Security office will confirm you still meet the non-medical and technical requirements. If you meet these requirements the SSA will issue your benefits.
If the DDS office denies your application you have 60 days to file an appeal. This appeal is called the Request for Reconsideration. DDS offices are also responsible for making the medical determination on your Request for Reconsideration. Your claim will be assigned a different examiner to review medical reports and any questionnaires you have completed. The new examiner also has the option to request you attend a Consultative Examination if more information is needed.
For more information on DDS please click here.
