The Social Security Advisory Board recently issued a lengthy report on Social Security’s relationship with state operated Disability Determination Services, agencies that are in charge of making medical decisions on Social Security disability claims at lower levels of the process. The report shows that DDS is struggling to keep up with the backlog of claims, which extends wait times.
The report indicates that over the years there has been friction between Social Security and DDS agencies, which is also not helping productivity.
“Key performance metrics indicate that DDSs are struggling to keep up in the current environment. The Board is encouraged by Congressional interest in these challenges. Still, the Board believes long-standing frictions between SSA, state governments, and the DDSs call for ongoing review of how SSA and the DDSs work together and how the agency incorporates DDS needs into its overall strategic, performance, workforce, and contingency plans,” the report said.
A good working relationship between DDS and Social Security is necessary so the two agencies can coordinate all the disability claims filed and issue proper decisions within a timely manner. For quite some time now DDS, like Social Security, has been underfunded and understaffed making the processing of disability claims in a timely manner difficult. This work shows what the two agencies need to work on to improve the process. The Social Security Advisory Board is a four-person entity that makes recommendations to Social Security.
If you are interested in reading the full report issued by the Social Security Advisory Board click here.
