Dec 12, 2005

Disability Backlogs and Inconsistency

Social Security is not the only agency having problems adjudicating disability claims. Here is an excerpt from a Government Accountability Office (GAO) study of disability determination at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) that should sound familiar to those involved in disability determination at SSA.
While VA made progress in fiscal years 2002 and 2003 reducing the size and age of its inventory of pending claims, it has lost ground since the end of fiscal year 2003. For example, pending claims increased by over one-third from the end of fiscal year 2003 to the end of fiscal year 2005. Meanwhile, VA faces continuing questions about its ability to ensure that veterans get consistent decisions across its 57 regional offices.

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