SSA Misses Opportunity For CDR Savings Per OIG

Depending on its approach to conducting medical continuing disability reviews (CDRs), the SSA has the potential for significant financial savings or losses, according to a recent report from the SSA Office of the Inspector General (OIG). CDRs are used to determine whether disability beneficiaries continue to be disabled and should continue receiving benefits.

If the SSA were conducting CDRs at the same rate as its fiscal year (FY) 2002 level, the additional federal benefit savings would amount to $4.6 billion in FY 2014, according to the OIG’s estimate in it study, “The Social Security Administration’s Completion of Program Integrity Workloads.”

When the SSA has chosen how to allocate funding between program integrity and other workloads—program integrity work generally declined. Since FY 2009, the SSA has received dedicated funding, but full medical CDRs remain at historically lower levels compared to FY 2002-05.

The agency ended FY 2013 with a backlog of 1.3 million full medical CDRs. If SSA’s approach and funding continue like FY2013—the full medical CDR backlog would reach more than 5.7 million by FY 2023, the OIG estimates.

Members of Congress have queried the agency on its approach to CDRs with recent hearings about the Disability Insurance Trust Fund, especially as the trust fund exhaustion date of 2016 draws near.

The report includes the following data: