GAO Report Critical Of Social Security's Treatment Of Disability Claims Complicated By Substance Abuse
From a recent report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) : ... This report examines (1) what is known about the relationship between trends in prescription opioids and DI claims, and (2) how SSA [Social Security Administratino] consider s potential prescription opioid misuse in its DI [Disability Insurance] eligibility decisions . GAO analyzed county -level data on opioid prescriptions and DI claims from 2006 through 2017; interviewed program staff involved in DI eligibility decisions in Alabama, Ken tucky, and West Virginia, selected because of their high rates of opioid prescriptions and percentage of the adult population on DI; and reviewed case files for DI beneficiaries identified by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services as being at risk for prescription opioid misuse or abuse. ... The numbers of opioid prescriptions and claims for the Social Security Administration�s (SSA) Disability Insurance (DI) program have each declin...