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Report: Disability benefits wrongly awarded
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09/18/12 01:37 PM ET
Lax oversight is leading the government to approve disability benefits for people who can't prove that they're disabled, according to a report released Tuesday by a Senate subcommittee.
The report, spearheaded by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), says more than a quarter of disability claims are approved despite inadequate or conflicting information.
That doesn't necessarily mean all of those claims should have been rejected, Coburn said at a hearing Tuesday — but some unfounded approvals are surely slipping through the cracks of an inadequate review process. The report does not address people who might have been wrongly denied disability benefits.
"I think Social Security is right on top of this," Coburn said.
Administrative law judges are under immense pressure to clear away a deep backlog of applications. Coburn's review uncovered examples of judges holding hearings that lasted only 10 minutes, at which the disability recipient didn't even speak. Some judges seemed to overtly ignore evidence indicating that applicants were probably able to return to work.
Coburn recommended a series of changes to the disability system, including updated standards for disability payments and a stronger quality-review process. Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), who leads the investigative subcommittee that produced the report, said he disagreed with just one recommendation: requiring a government representative at all hearings held by administrative law judges.
Because the government wants to cut down on improper payments, leaving more money to help people who are actually in need, a government representative would reduce the number of cases in which judges overlook relevant evidence, Coburn said. Levin said it would be an "expensive and time-consuming duplication."
