Confronting the Flood of Disability Claims : Congress should OK funds to find Social Security abusers

The number of workers applying for Social Security disability benefits nearly doubled to 2.7 million between 1989 and 1994, suggesting either an alarming decline in the physical and mental health of Americans or increasing abuse of the system. By law, the Social Security Administration is supposed to review about 500,000 cases each year to verify that claimant/recipients in fact are unable to return to work. But the big caseload increase has put it far behind schedule. It wants Congress to appropriate an extra $320 million so it can look at 1.4 million cases over the next two years and eliminate the backlog. Experience suggests that about $3 can eventually be saved for every $1 spent checking on claims.

Four million people now draw an average of $682 a month under the disability program, more than $32 billion a year. A second program, costing about $24 billion a year, covers low-income people with disabilities who can’t work. Mental disorders are the most common basis for disability claims, followed by arthritis, back problems and heart disease. Claims must be supported by documentation from a doctor or hospital. Once a claimant returns to work, payments are supposed to stop. Returned workers who continue to draw disability payments can be prosecuted for fraud.

Many recent disability claims may well be legitimate results of the uncertain economic times we live in; illness or injury is often a response to severe stress. But it’s also likely the level of chiseling has risen as well. It’s important to review many claims--with claimants assured full protection and the right to appeal--to seek out the cheats. Retarding the fast-rising costs of this program could allow savings to be applied to the troubled Social Security retirement fund. Congress should have no hesitation appropriating the $320 million that’s being asked for.