third in a hearing series on securing the future of the social security

160 Pages·2013·5.62 MB·English

THIRD IN A HEARING SERIES ON SECURING THE
FUTURE OF THE SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY
INSURANCE PROGRAM
HEARING
BEFORETHE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON SOCIAL SECURITY
OFTHE
COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS
U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED TWELFTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
MARCH20, 2012
Serial No. 112–SS14
Printed for the use of the Committee on Ways and Means
(
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COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS
DAVE CAMP, Michigan, Chairman
WALLY HERGER, California SANDER M. LEVIN, Michigan
SAM JOHNSON, Texas CHARLES B. RANGEL, New York
KEVIN BRADY, Texas FORTNEY PETE STARK, California
PAUL RYAN, Wisconsin JIM MCDERMOTT, Washington
DEVIN NUNES, California JOHN LEWIS, Georgia
PATRICK J. TIBERI, Ohio RICHARD E. NEAL, Massachusetts
GEOFF DAVIS, Kentucky XAVIER BECERRA, California
DAVID G. REICHERT, Washington LLOYD DOGGETT, Texas
CHARLES W. BOUSTANY, JR., Louisiana MIKE THOMPSON, California
PETER J. ROSKAM, Illinois JOHN B. LARSON, Connecticut
JIM GERLACH, Pennsylvania EARL BLUMENAUER, Oregon
TOM PRICE, Georgia RON KIND, Wisconsin
VERN BUCHANAN, Florida BILL PASCRELL, JR., New Jersey
ADRIAN SMITH, Nebraska SHELLEY BERKLEY, Nevada
AARON SCHOCK, Illinois JOSEPH CROWLEY, New York
LYNN JENKINS, Kansas
ERIK PAULSEN, Minnesota
KENNY MARCHANT, Texas
RICK BERG, North Dakota
DIANE BLACK, Tennessee
TOM REED, New York
Jennifer Safavian, Staff Director
Janice Mays, Minority Chief Counsel
SUBCOMMITTEE ON SOCIAL SECURITY
SAM JOHNSON, Texas, Chairman
KEVIN BRADY, Texas XAVIER BECERRA, California
PATRICK J. TIBERI, Ohio LLOYD DOGGETT, Texas
AARON SCHOCK, Illinois SHELLEY BERKLEY, Nevada
RICK BERG, North Dakota FORTNEY PETE STARK, California
ADRIAN SMITH, Nebraska
KENNY MARCHANT, Texas
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C O N T E N T S
Page
Advisory of March 20, 2012 announcing the hearing ........................................... 2
WITNESSES
PANEL 1:
The Honorable Michael J. Astrue Commissioner, Social Security Adminis-
tration ................................................................................................................ 6
PANEL 2:
Trudy Lyon-Hart Director, Office of Disability Determination Services,
Vermont Agency of Human Services, on behalf of the National Council
of Disability Determination Directors ............................................................. 41
Lisa D. Ekman Senior Policy Advisor, Health & Disability Advocates on
behalf of the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities Social Security
Task Force ......................................................................................................... 53
Dan Bertoni Director, Education, Workforce, and Income Security Issues,
U.S. Government Accountability Office .......................................................... 67
Leighton Chan, M.D. Chief, Rehabilitation Medicine Department, National
Institutes of Health .......................................................................................... 87
Nicole Maestas, Ph.D. Senior Economist, RAND Corporation ......................... 100
SUBMISSIONS FOR THE RECORD
AFGE, Statement .................................................................................................... 134
University at Buffalo Law School, Statement ....................................................... 143
NHCHC, Statement ................................................................................................. 151
Ruth Kolb, Statement .............................................................................................. 157
QUESTIONS FOR THE RECORD
The Honorable Michael J. Astrue ........................................................................... 118
Trudy Lyon-Hart ...................................................................................................... 122
Dan Bertoni .............................................................................................................. 125
Leighton Chan, M.D. ............................................................................................... 129
Nicole Maestas, Ph.D. ............................................................................................. 131
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THIRD IN A HEARING SERIES ON SECURING
THE FUTURE OF THE SOCIAL SECURITY
DISABILITY INSURANCE PROGRAM
TUESDAY, MARCH 20, 2012
U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS,
SUBCOMMITTEE ON SOCIAL SECURITY,
Washington, DC.
The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:31 a.m. in Room
B–318 Longworth House Office Building, the Honorable Sam John-
son [Chairman of the Subcommittee] presiding.
[The advisory announcing the hearing follows:]
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HEARING ADVISORY
FROM THE COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS
Chairman Johnson Announces the Third in a
Hearing Series on Securing the Future of the
Social Security Disability Insurance Program
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
U.S. Congressman Sam Johnson (R–TX), Chairman of the House Committee on
Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Security, today announced a hearing on
how disability is decided. The hearing will take place on Tuesday, March 20,
2012, in B–318 Rayburn House Office Building, beginning at 10:30 a.m.
In view of the limited time available to hear witnesses, oral testimony at this
hearing will be from invited witnesses only. However, any individual or organization
not scheduled for an oral appearance may submit a written statement for consider-
ation by the Subcommittee and for inclusion in the printed record of the hearing.
BACKGROUND:
The disability insurance program pays benefits to those who have worked in the
past but are determined unable to work because of a disability that is expected to
last more than a year or result in death. The responsibility to make the initial find-
ing on disability was assigned to the State Vocational Rehabilitation Agencies or
other appropriate State agencies in the Social Security Act Amendments of 1954.
All 50 states, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, maintain fully feder-
ally-funded agencies, collectively referred to as Disability Determination Services
(DDSs), which decide initial and continuing eligibility of disability claims. The DDS
examiner does not see claimants face-to-face and must rely on relevant medical evi-
dence that is provided by the claimant and/or medical sources in deciding whether
the individual is disabled, as defined by Federal regulation and Social Security Ad-
ministration (SSA) policies.
In FY 2011, the DDSs received over 3.3 million initial disability claims, the high-
est in the SSA’s history. Examiners completed nearly 3.4 million initial claims, re-
ducing the backlog of pending applications to 759,000, nearly 300,000 fewer claims
than were pending at the end of FY 2010. The average processing time for initial
disability claims was 109 days in FY 2011 and is projected to rise slightly in FY
2012. Over the most recent five-year period for which data is available, the percent-
age of all applications for disability benefits that were allowed ranged from 36–38
percent.
The Social Security Act considers people eligible for benefits when they are unable
‘‘to engage in any substantial gainful activity (SGA) by reason of any medically de-
terminable physical or mental impairment which can be expected to result in death
or which has lasted or can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less
than twelve months.’’ The disability has to be so severe as to prevent them from
doing any ‘‘substantial gainful work which exists in the national economy,’’ whether
a specific job is available or not. The disability must result from a physical or psy-
chological condition that is ‘‘demonstrable by medically acceptable clinical and lab-
oratory diagnostic techniques.’’ In 2012, the level of earnings that constitutes per-
forming SGA is $1,010 per month for non-blind individuals and $1,690 for blind in-
dividuals.
Most claims are evaluated under a five-step sequential evaluation process. The
first two steps screen out individuals who are currently working above the SGA
threshold and applicants whose impairments are not severe. The third step com-
pares the individual’s condition to the ‘‘medical listings’’—a regulatory list of condi-
tions that are considered severe enough to prevent a person from doing any gainful
activity. If the individual’s condition does not meet or equal the severity of a condi-
NS tion in the medical listings, the examiner proceeds to step four, which is assessing
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YS to perform past relevant work, the claim is denied. If not, the examiner must deter-
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mine at step five whether the individual can undertake other work. State examiners
rely on medical evidence obtained from the claimant’s health care providers, and can
also consult with medical experts and may purchase one or more consultative ex-
aminations.
The SSA also has several fast-track procedures for evaluating claims from individ-
uals with a terminal illness, or who have certain especially severe conditions that
are highly likely to be allowed (called Compassionate Allowances and Quick Dis-
ability Determinations).
In announcing the hearing, Social Security Subcommittee Chairman Sam Johnson
(R–TX) said, ‘‘Americans with disabilities deserve to get the right decision
as early as possible, but that’s just not how it currently works. States strug-
gle on the front lines to make sense of the program’s complex rules to de-
cide who gets benefits. At the same time advances in treatment, rehabilita-
tion, and the workplace have created new opportunities for those with dis-
abilities to return to work. Securing the future of the disability insurance
program should address these challenges and opportunities while keeping
the process fair for both claimants and taxpayers.’’
FOCUSOFTHEHEARING:
The hearing will focus on how disability insurance eligibility decisions are made,
including the definition of disability and the Federal-State relationship.
DETAILSFORSUBMISSIONOFWRITTENCOMMENTS:
Please Note: Any person(s) and/or organization(s) wishing to submit for the hear-
ing record must follow the appropriate link on the hearing page of the Committee
website and complete the informational forms. From the Committee homepage,
http://waysandmeans.house.gov, select Hearings.’’ Select the hearing for which you
would like to submit, and click on the link entitled, ‘‘Click here to provide a submis-
sion for the record.’’ Once you have followed the online instructions, submit all re-
quested information. ATTACH your submission as a Word or WordPerfect docu-
ment, in compliance with the formatting requirements listed below, by the close
of business on Tuesday, April 3, 2012. Finally, please note that due to the
change in House mail policy, the U.S. Capitol Police will refuse sealed-package de-
liveries to all House Office Buildings. For questions, or if you encounter technical
problems, please call (202) 225–1721 or (202) 225–3625.
FORMATTINGREQUIREMENTS:
The Committee relies on electronic submissions for printing the official hearing record. As al-
ways, submissions will be included in the record according to the discretion of the Committee.
The Committee will not alter the content of your submission, but we reserve the right to format
it according to our guidelines. Any submission provided to the Committee by a witness, any sup-
plementary materials submitted for the printed record, and any written comments in response
to a request for written comments must conform to the guidelines listed below. Any submission
or supplementary item not in compliance with these guidelines will not be printed, but will be
maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.
1. All submissions and supplementary materials must be provided in Word or WordPerfect
format and MUST NOT exceed a total of 10 pages, including attachments. Witnesses and sub-
mitters are advised that the Committee relies on electronic submissions for printing the official
hearing record.
2. Copies of whole documents submitted as exhibit material will not be accepted for printing.
Instead, exhibit material should be referenced and quoted or paraphrased. All exhibit material
not meeting these specifications will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use
by the Committee.
3. All submissions must include a list of all clients, persons and/or organizations on whose
behalf the witness appears. A supplemental sheet must accompany each submission listing the
name, company, address, telephone, and fax numbers of each witness.
NS The Committee seeks to make its facilities accessible to persons with disabilities.
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& 3411 TTD/TTY in advance of the event (four business days notice is requested).
YS Questions with regard to special accommodation needs in general (including avail-
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ability of Committee materials in alternative formats) may be directed to the Com-
mittee as noted above.
Note: All Committee advisories and news releases are available on the World
Wide Web at http://www.waysandmeans.house.gov/.
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Chairman JOHNSON. Good morning.
The hearing will come to order. Good morning and welcome to
the third hearing in our series on ‘‘Securing the Future of Social
Security Disability Insurance.’’
Today, we will focus on how disability is decided. For more than
50 years, the Social Security Disability Insurance Program has pro-
vided a vital safety net for workers who have worked long and re-
cently enough and who meet the definition of ‘‘disability.’’
When Congress created the Disability Insurance Program in
1956, it defined ‘‘disability’’ as the ‘‘inability of an individual to
work due to a physical or mental impairment.’’
‘‘Qualified impairments’’ are those that are expected to last for
no less than one year or those expected to result in death.
Over the years, the Social Security Administration has created
complex criteria, emphasizing ‘‘complex,’’ and a time consuming
process that is frustrating to claimants, costly to the taxpayer, and
frequently raises questions about the consistency, accuracy and
fairness of this program.
Our witnesses today will tell us how claimants apply for dis-
ability, how the state disability determination agencies, which are
fully funded by Social Security, decide eligibility.
As we will hear today, deciding whether someone is eligible for
benefits is far from easy.
The examiners supported by medical consultants must analyze
medical and other evidence and take a series of complicated steps
to make their decisions.
In the 1980s, Congress also created requirements relating to the
opinion of treating doctors, and how pain and other symptoms af-
fect the ability of an individual to work.
A morass of policies developed to help ensure consistency and re-
spond to the courts have also added to the complexity of the pro-
gram.
It is no surprise then that there are wide variations in outcomes,
raising questions about whether this program is being adminis-
tered consistently across the country, and whether claimants are
being treated fairly.
Further, Social Security has had an up hill climb for years to
provide the kind of policy oversight, quality review, and ongoing
training that massive disability workloads require.
It has also struggled to stay current with needed updates to the
list of medical conditions considered severe enough to qualify for
benefits.
While this program has served as a vital safety net to millions
of Americans, the reality is much has changed since 1956.
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Legal and social changes have promoted participation by people
with disabilities into mainstream society, and the nature of work
has changed significantly, as we have moved from an economy
largely defined by manual labor to a service and knowledge based
economy.
Yet, the ‘‘all or nothing’’ standard of half a century ago is often
criticized as ‘‘work disincentive,’’ furthering dependence by those
who might otherwise be able to achieve varying levels of self sup-
port.
As we consider securing the future of this program, we owe it to
the American public to ensure that the program effectively serves
the interests of applicants, beneficiaries, and taxpayers.
I now recognize the Ranking Member, Mr. Becerra, for his open-
ing statement.
Mr. BECERRA. Mr. Chairman, thank you very much for calling
this, the third hearing in our series examining the Social Security
Disability Insurance System.
I want to just begin by mentioning that Social Security disability
is an earned benefit. It is not something that you just get. You
have to have paid into the system, which means you have to have
worked and paid into the system, and you must have suffered a
work ending disability to be able to qualify.
Even so, the requirements for receiving benefits are very tough.
You mentioned that. Only the very sickest and most disabled
Americans qualify.
The majority of Americans with disabilities do not meet Social
Security’s strict eligibility standard. To qualify, applicants must
submit detailed medical and other evidence demonstrating that
they are either dying or too sick or disabled to work at all, and that
their condition will last more than a year.
Moreover, in deciding whether someone cannot work, SSA con-
siders not just an individuals’ previous job or occupation, but
whether he or she can assume any job in the nation’s economy that
that individual could do despite the person’s medical condition.
Individuals who do not meet these criteria are not eligible for
disability assistance from Social Security.
Evaluating whether an individual is so sick or disabled that he
or she cannot work is a difficult task, involving complex evalua-
tions of medical evidence and other factors.
DI benefits are not generous. A typical worker receives about
$13,000 a year. Because they are either too sick or too disabled to
work at all, those benefits translate into a life line for many of
those Americans and their families.
We owe it to these Americans to pay their benefits when they
need them. Let’s remember one in seven beneficiaries of these dis-
ability benefits dies within a year of being awarded benefits.
We owe it to all Americans and workers who pay into the Social
Security system to safeguard their contributions and pay only ben-
efits to those who meet the strict standard.
Social Security’s operating budget is lower today than it was in
2010, because of decisions made in this Congress in what to appro-
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ber of individuals aging into the system. We are finding that the
Department’s budget or the Administration’s budget is actually
shrinking in its ability to meet the needs.
That, I believe, is distressing.
As I have said before, I think we owe it to the hundreds of mil-
lions of Americans who pay into the system or who receive benefits
to hold hearings specifically on these critical decisions on budgets
for the Social Security Administration.
Americans’ contributions into the Trust Fund are what pay for
Social Security’s operating expenses. Budget cuts have real con-
sequences now and in the future for Social Security and its recipi-
ents.
Initial disability claims, the topic of this hearing, are a good ex-
ample. With an aging population and the worst recession since the
Great Depression, the Social Security Administration receives over
three million applications for disability benefits a year, an average
of nearly 13,000 claims a day.
Right now, it takes SSA an average of 111 days to make a deci-
sion on a disability application.
Due to budget cuts, SSA has been operating under a hiring
freeze, which means there are fewer workers to process claims, as-
sist the public, and safeguard the Trust Fund than there were in
2011.
The state DDS offices which evaluate applications have lost more
than ten percent of their staff compared to last year. This is the
equivalent of about 2,000 skilled workers, many of whom had years
of experience.
As a result, the amount of time it takes to make the decision on
an application is rising, as is the backlog of people waiting for a
decision, which is currently about 750,000 disabled individuals.
Mr. Chairman, this is an important hearing. I believe that we
must continue to take a close look at how the system operates. We
have to make sure the benefits are there for those who need them,
and I am glad that we are holding this in a series of hearings on
the Social Security Administration, and in this case, on the dis-
ability program.
With that, I yield back the balance of my time.
Chairman JOHNSON. Thank you, Mr. Becerra.
As is customary, any member is welcome to submit a statement
for the hearing record.
Chairman JOHNSON. Before we move onto our testimony today,
I want to remind our witnesses, all of them, to please limit your
oral statements to five minutes.
However, without objection, all the written testimony will be
made part of the hearing record.
We have two panels today. Seated at the table is our first panel
witness, the Commissioner of Social Security, Michael Astrue.
Welcome, Commissioner. You may proceed.
NS STATEMENT OF MICHAEL J. ASTRUE, COMMISSIONER, SOCIAL
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