	Background

SSA’s Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income programs are  the nation’s largest providers of federal income assistance to disabled  individuals, with the agency making payments of approximately $113  billion to more than 14 million beneficiaries and their families in 2004. Nonetheless, the agency has considerable work to  accomplish before it will be effectively positioned to fully process all  disability claims in an electronic environment. However, as indicated in table 1, not all of the 54 state DDSs are  expected to be certified to process initial disability claims and to use the  electronic folder as the official record until January 2007. The paper folders will  continue to serve as the official records for these cases. The managers added that  processing claims electronically had thus far taken longer and consumed  more resources than before the electronic system was implemented. According to the officials, the contractor began work on  this strategy in May 2005 and is expected to deliver an initial report in  September 2005. These recommendations called for the agency to  (1) resolve critical problems that it had identified in pilot testing of the  electronic disability system and conduct end-to-end testing of the  interrelated system components, (2) ensure that users approved the  software being developed and that systems were certified for production,  (3) finalize AeDib risk mitigation strategies, (4) validate AeDib cost and  benefit estimates, and (5) improve communications with and effectively  address the concerns of disability stakeholders and users involved in the  initiative. Specifically, SSA officials provided evidence indicating that the agency has  taken measures to ensure that users approve new software and that it  certifies its systems for production. However, SSA did not demonstrate any actions on two of the  recommendations. In the continued absence of risk mitigation  strategies, the agency lacks a critical means of ensuring that it can prevent  circumstances that could impede a successful project outcome. Recommendations for Executive Action

To further reduce the risks to SSA’s progress in successfully achieving its  electronic disability claims processing capability, we recommend that the  Commissioner of Social Security take the following two actions:  develop and implement a strategy that articulates milestones, resources,  and priorities for efficiently and effectively resolving problems with the  electronic disability system’s operations, including (1) identifying and  implementing a solution to improve the use of electronic forms, (2)  identifying and implementing a solution to address concerns with  existing computer monitors, and (3) ensuring that the DDSs have the  necessary software capabilities to fully and efficiently process initial  claims in the electronic processing environment; and  ensure that the state DDSs develop and implement continuity of  operations plans that complement SSA’s plans for continuing essential  disability claims processing functions in any emergency or other  situation that may disrupt normal operations. We recognize that SSA does not expect to complete all  states’ certifications until early 2007. Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

Our objectives were to (1) assess the current status of SSA’s accelerated  implementation of its electronic disability system—the initiative known as  AeDib and (2) identify actions the agency has taken in response to our  prior recommendations on this initiative. To assess the agency’s status in  implementing its electronic disability system, we analyzed relevant project  management documentation including schedules, project plans, and  reports documenting the status of the system’s rollout to the 54 state  disability determination service (DDS) offices and SSA’s 144 Office of  Hearings and Appeals (OHA) sites.
Why GAO Did This Study

Through an initiative known as AeDib, the Social Security Administration (SSA) is implementing a system in which medical images and other documents that have traditionally been kept in paper folders will be stored in electronic folders, enabling disability offices--including SSA's 144 Office of Hearings and Appeals sites and 54 state disability determination services--to process disability claims electronically. This initiative supports a program that, in 2004, made payments of approximately $113 billion to more than 14 million beneficiaries and their families. In March 2004, GAO recommended that SSA take steps to ensure the successful implementation of the electronic disability system. GAO was asked to assess SSA's status in implementing AeDib and the actions the agency has taken in response to GAO's prior recommendations on this initiative.

What GAO Found

Since January 2004, SSA has been implementing its electronic disability system at 53 state disability determination services and 85 Office of Hearings and Appeals sites. It plans to complete implementation in all state sites by October 2005 and all hearings and appeals sites by November 2005. Nonetheless, considerable work is needed before these entities will be ready to process all initial claims electronically. SSA's effort to certify all state offices to electronically process claims and maintain the electronic folder as an official claims record is not expected to be completed until January 2007. In addition, state disability officials expressed concerns about the system's operations and reliability and about limitations in their electronic processing capabilities. Accordingly, a number of the offices reported varying levels of system usage, and their officials said that processing claims electronically generally took longer and consumed more resources than the previous method. Further, SSA and the state disability determination services lacked continuity of operations plans for ensuring that states could continue to process disability claims during emergencies. As SSA has implemented its system, it has taken actions that supported three of GAO's five prior recommendations. It has initiated studies that could help validate AeDib planning assumptions, costs, and benefits. It has also approved new software and certified its systems for production. In addition, according to state disability officials, the agency had improved its communications with them. However, SSA did not demonstrate action on two recommendations calling for thorough testing of its interrelated system components before implementation and completion of risk mitigation strategies for the projects supporting the initiative. Thorough testing and risk mitigation strategies could have helped limit problems with the system's operation and other circumstances that could impede the project's success.