From SSA News Release. This is an excellent move by the new Commissioner. He appears to be choosing the right initiatives at the outset.


Commissioner Astrue Proposes to Extend Social Security’s
Quick Disability Determination Process to all States
Proposed Rule Would Accelerate Benefits to Those Deemed Clearly Disabled
Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, today announced that Social Security will
publish a proposed regulation to extend the quick disability determination (QDD) process to all
State disability determination services. The process is now operating in the Boston region,
comprised of the states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island
and Vermont. 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 claimant’s allegations can be quickly and easily obtained.
“At my confirmation hearing, I promised to look closely at the disability changes we were testing
in New England and implement nationally those things that were working well,” Commissioner
Astrue said. “We have seen the success of the QDD model in identifying cases that are most
likely to be allowed. To date, 97 percent of the cases identified have been decided within 21
days and the average decision time is 11 days. We plan to build on the success of QDD by
expanding it to all States because it is both efficient and compassionate for us to do so.”
Social Security currently receives more than 2.5 million new disability cases each year. In the
Boston region, QDD cases constituted slightly less than 3 percent of all new cases because the
model does not yet cull a wide enough variety of diseases. Commissioner Astrue has committed
to expanding the number of cases that can be decided through the model as high as possible
while maintaining accuracy.
“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 proposed regulation provides for a 30 day comment period. It is on display at the Federal
Register today and, starting tomorrow, can be read online at www.regulations.gov. For more
information about Social Security’s disability programs, go to www.socialsecurity.gov.