Social Security Unveils Initiative To Automate Disability Claims

On Monday, the Social Security Administration announced plans to expand connectivity with health care providers in an effort to accelerate electronic disability claims processing, Government Health IT reports.

Virginia as a Model

In February, SSA launched an electronic disability claims system with MedVirginia, Virginia's regional health information organization.

The two groups exchange information through the federal Connect gateway for linking to the National Health Information Network.

Building Up

Jim Borland, SSA's special adviser for Health IT, said SSA hopes to build upon the MedVirginia initiative by connecting with other health care providers nationwide.

The project could help the agency convert its paper-based disability determination system into an automated process, which could save labor, money and time.

SSA plans to use money from the federal economic stimulus package to award contracts to:

• Health care providers and specialists;
• Medical organizations;
• Health information exchanges; and
• RHIOs.

Timeline

On June 29, the agency posted a request for information on the Federal Business Opportunities Web site to measure interest in the initiative. Responses are due July 22.

The agency expects to publish a request for proposals Aug. 7 and could begin awarding contracts in January, Borland said (Mosquera, Government Health IT, 7/6).

FACT SHEET ON THE OLD-AGE, SURVIVORS, AND DISABILITY INSURANCE PROGRAM

A. Beneficiaries in Current-Payment Status, December 31, 2008

Type of benefit			Number of beneficiaries [In thousands]	Monthly rate [In millions]	Average monthly amount
Total			50,898	$53,666	a
	Retired workers and their family members, total		35,169	38,853	a
		Retired workers	32,273	37,207	$1,153
		Spouses	2,370	1,348	569
		Children	525	298	568
	Survivors of deceased workers, total		6,456	6,336	a
		Children	1,915	1,427	745
		Widowed mothers and fathers with child beneficiaries in their care	160	133	835
		Aged widow(er)s, and aged parents	4,152	4,618	1,112
		Disabled widow(er)s	230	157	684
	Disabled workers and their family members, total		9,274	8,478	a
		Disabled workers	7,427	7,896	1,063
		Spouses	155	44	285
		Children	1,692	537	318
a Since the benefit amounts for workers and for the various types of family members and survivors are based on different proportions of the worker's benefit, average monthly amounts for groups of these different kinds of beneficiaries are not meaningful.

B. Selected Categories of Beneficiaries (Included Above) in
Current-Payment Status, December 31, 2008

Type of benefit		Number of beneficiaries [In thousands]	Monthly rate [In millions]
Disabled beneficiaries (OASDI)—Workers, disabled children aged 18 and over, and disabled widow(er)s		8,529	$8,647
Children (OASDI)		4,132	2,263
	Student children	142	92
	Disabled children aged 18 and over	871	594
	Children under age 18	3,118	1,577
Survivor children and widowed mothers and fathers		2,074	1,560
Beneficiaries aged 62 and over (OASDI)		40,275	44,827
Beneficiaries aged 65 and over (OASDI)		35,819	40,242

C. Average Monthly Family Benefits in
Current-Payment Status, December 31, 2008

Selected family a group	Number of families [In thousands]	Average family benefit	Average number of beneficiaries per family
Retired worker alone	29,570	$1,140	1.000
Retired worker and spouse, aged 62 and over	2,257	1,877	2.000
Disabled worker, spouse under full retirement age, and 1 or more children	73	1,795	3.944
Widowed parent and 2 children	50	2,372	3.000
Children of deceased workerb	1,153	983	1.333
Aged widow(er) alone	3,973	1,112	1.000
a A family means beneficiaries entitled on one worker's account. b In most cases, the family includes a widowed parent whose benefits are withheld due to earnings.

D. Measures of Protection

1. Coverage
   About 162 million people will work in OASDI-covered employment in 2009.

   About 94 percent of workers in paid employment and self-employment are covered under the OASDI program.

2. Benefit receipt among the elderly
   As of December 31, 2008, about 90 percent of the population aged 65 and over were receiving benefits.
3. Protection for survivors of young workers
   About 97 percent of persons aged 20-49 who worked in covered employment in 2008 have acquired survivorship protection for their children under age 18 (and surviving spouses caring for children under age 16).
4. Disability protection
   About 91 percent of persons aged 21-64 who worked in covered employment in 2008 can count on monthly cash benefits if they suffer a severe and prolonged disability.

E. Operations of OASI and DI Trust Funds, Combined
[In billions]

			Calendar year 2007	Fiscal year 2008	Cumulative 1937 through end of —
					Calendar year 2007	Fiscal year 2008
Income			$784.9	$802.7	$12,253.4	$12,849.4
	Contributions		656.1	671.2	10,898.3	11,423.3
	Other		128.8	131.5	1,355.1	1,426.1
Expenditures			594.5	617.0	10,014.9	10,483.1
	Benefit payments		584.9	607.2	9,806.8	10,266.6
		OASI	489.1	503.0	8,532.0	8,912.7
		DI	95.9	104.2	1,274.7	1,353.9
	Other		9.6	9.8	208.2	216.6
Assets, end of period			2,238.5	2,366.3	2,238.5	2,366.3
Note: Totals may not equal the sums of rounded components.

Social Security- Fast Facts

• In 2009, nearly 51 million Americans will receive $650 billion in Social Security benefits.

  December 2008 Beneficiary Data

  Retired workers	32 million	$37.2 billion	$1,153 average monthly benefit
  dependents	2.9 million	$ 1.6 billion
  Disabled workers	7.4 million	$ 7.9 billion	$1,063 average monthly benefit
  dependents	1.8 million	$ .6 billion
  Survivors	6.5 million	$ 6.3 billion	$1,112 average monthly benefit

• Social Security is the major source of income for most of the elderly.

  • Nine out of ten individuals age 65 and older receive Social Security benefits.
  • Social Security benefits represent about 40% of the income of the elderly.
  • Among elderly Social Security beneficiaries, 52% of married couples and 72% of unmarried persons receive 50% or more of their income from Social Security.
  • Among elderly Social Security beneficiaries, 20% of married couples and about 41% of unmarried persons rely on Social Security for 90% or more of their income.
    
• Social Security provides more than just retirement benefits.
  • Retired workers and their dependents account for 69% of total benefits paid.
  • Disabled workers and their dependents account for 18% of total benefits paid.
    • About 91 percent of workers age 21-64 in covered employment and their families have protection in the event of a long-term disability.
    • Almost 1 in 4 of today’s 20 year-olds will become disabled before reaching age 67.
    • 69% of the private sector workforce has no long-term disability insurance.
      
  • Survivors of deceased workers account for about 13% of total benefits paid.
    • About one in eight of today’s 20 year-olds will die before reaching age 67.
    • About 97% of persons aged 20-49 who worked in covered employment in 2008 have survivors insurance protection for their young children and the surviving spouse caring for the children.

• An estimated 162 million workers, 94% of all workers, are covered under Social Security.

• 52% of the workforce has no private pension coverage.
• 31% of the workforce has no savings set aside specifically for retirement.

• In 1935, the life expectancy of a 65-year-old was 12½ years, today it's 18 years.

• By 2034, there will be almost twice as many older Americans as today -- from 38.6 million today to 74 million.

• There are currently 3.3 workers for each Social Security beneficiary. By 2034, there will be 2.1 workers for each beneficiary.