Social Security managers pressured consultants to approve disability applications, says audit
The audit, performed by the Social Security Administration's inspector general, stopped short of concluding that those urgings amounted to intimidation. But "at a minimum, a perception existed" that the Birmingham-based Disability Determination Service "pressured some (medical consultants) to increase their disability allowance rates," the report says.
The evidence came in part from supervisors' e-mails warning consultants about low allowance rates and referring to a "plan of action" if they fell below 30 percent. The audit report does not say why more approved claims were considered desirable, but in interviews with the Press-Register, former staff members have said supervisors were worried about looking stingy in comparison with other states.
In the future, claims should be handled on the merits, without considering targets or goals, the audit says. In an unsigned response, the disability service managers denied using allowance rate information to manage employee performance.
