The Wall Street Journalreported today that the deficit deal leaves the Social Security Administration (SSA) free to accelerate its continuing disability reviews to remove beneficiaries who are no longer disabled.
According to SSA, these reviews lead to roughly 12% of beneficiaries being cut from disability payments, resulting in a savings such that for every $1 spent on reviews, the government saves $10 in Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid costs.
None of us supports folks receiving disability benefits when they aren’t disabled. But isn’t it equally urgent to consider the cost to our society of the many Americans who wait months and years for disability benefits to be awarded – often becoming homeless and skipping urgently needed healthcare and medications while they wait? Many claimants’ impairments may grow worse during that waiting period, leading to increased health care costs once they’re finally been granted benefits. Isn’t making the system more efficient and responsive just as important as catching the few who are no longer disabled?