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GAO-09-183R 1 (2009-01-09)

handle is hein.gao/gaobaanlo0001 and id is 1 raw text is: im T I M Accountability * Integrity * Reliability United States Government Accountability Office Washington, DC 20548 January 9, 2009 The Honorable Michael J. Astrue Commissioner Social Security Administration Subject: Social Security Disability: Improving Notices to Denied Claimants Dear Commissioner Astrue: On December 17, 2008, we issued a report concerning our findings on the Social Security Administration's (SSA) collection of medical evidence in the disability determination process.' In the course of our review, an issue arose that was outside the scope of our work but is important to how SSA communicates its disability determinations to claimants. During this review, we examined a limited random selection of electronic folders for initial disability determinations for fiscal year 2007. The folders included notices sent to each denied claimant to explain the reasons for the denial of their claim and the evidence used to make the determination.2 Our findings related to these notices and current SSA policy regarding them is the subject of this report. This report also contains a recommendation that warrants SSA management's consideration. Results in Brief Notices sent to denied claimants may provide inconsistent and sometimes misleading information about the evidence obtained. Our review of a sample of electronic folders with initial determinations revealed, in some cases, that notices provided claimants with a confusing list of reports from medical sources that did not clearly indicate the medical evidence the Disability Determination Services (DDS) used to reach its determination. In response to DDS requests for medical records, some providers responded that they have no records, either for the individual or the period in question. In some cases, the notice sent to these claimants may include only those providers who actually submitted medical records. However, some notices include all providers who responded to the medical records request. By also including those providers who responded that 'GAO, Social Security Disability: Collection of Medical Evidence Could Be Improved with Evaluation to Identify Promising Collection Practices, GAO-09-149 (Washington, D.C.: Dec. 17, 2008). 2The folders for initial determinations we reviewed included notices identified as personal decision notice or notice of disapproved claim. GAO-09-183R Social Security Disability Page 1

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