September 5, 2007
 
Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, announced that Social Security has issued a final regulation to extend the quick disability determination (QDD) process to all state disability determination services.

Under QDD, a predictive model analyzes specific elements of data within the electronic claims file to identify claims where there is a high potential that the claimant is disabled and where evidence of the person’s allegations can be quickly and easily obtained.
  
“The quick disability determination has been very successful and efficient so far in New England and I am happy to say it will help people filing for disability benefits anywhere in the United States. This is a very important step we are taking at Social Security to improve our disability programs,” Astrue says.

Astrue lauded a reduction in pending disability cases that reach 1,000 days while waiting for an appeal hearing. The commissioner reported there are currently fewer than 600 pending cases, down from more than 63,000 cases in October 2006.

In a news release Social Security reported it currently receives more than 2.5 million new Social Security disability cases and more than 2.3 million Supplemental Security Income cases each year. The release stated that in New England, where QDD began on a test basis, cases constituted slightly less than 3 percent of all new cases.  Of those, 97% of the cases identified have been decided within 21 days and the average decision time is 11 days. Since the model does not yet incorporate as many diseases as it can, Astrue has committed to expanding the number of cases that can be identified while maintaining the same level of accuracy, the release noted.

“The length of time many people wait for a disability decision is unacceptable,” Astrue said.  “I am committed to a process that is as fair and speedy as possible.  While there is no single magic bullet, with better systems, better business processes and better ways of fast-tracking targeted cases, we can greatly improve the service we provide this vulnerable population.”
 
The final regulation, according to Social Security, is effective as of September 5, 2007, and will be gradually implemented over the next several months.

More information is available about Social Security’s disability programs at: www.socialsecurity.gov.