Social Security's Quick Disability Determination Extended Nationwide

On September 5, 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," Commissioner Astrue said.

Social Security 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 length of time many people wait for a disability decision is unacceptable," Commissioner 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 will be gradually implemented nationwide over the next several months.

For the complete press release about QDD or more information about Social Security's disability programs, go to http://www.socialsecurity.gov/ .