The American Association for Disability Policy Reform    

—   rehabilitation first   —

Quality vs. Quantity

When asked, any Social Security disability administrator will tell you that quality is the Administration's first concern.   The facts show that is not true:

The principal reason that quantity is much more important than quality is that, with no reliable method for determining who is disabled and who is not (in most cases), it is not possible to measure the quality of disability decisions.   Until Congress revises the definition of disability, as recommended by the Social Security Advisory Board (details), production will continue to take precedence over quality.


**Data available at https://www.ssa.gov/open/data/disability-determination-services-accuracy.html for 2020 (last checked 7/25/2021).   The Social Security Administration uses a definition of "quality" that only requires that certain procedural steps be followed and a reasonable decision made from the often-inadequate data.   The accuracy and adequacy of the information used in making decisions is almost never a factor.   Although deterioration in the claimant's condition during the wait for a judge's decision is often cited as the reason for the reversal of decisions by administrative law judges, the facts indicate otherwise.


BACK



Last updated on 7/25/2021.