EDITORIAL: Social Security program disabled

Sept. 23--Social Security's disability program is the largest in the world, providing coverage for millions of American workers who, along with their employers, fund it through payroll taxes.

About 10.5 million people receive disability benefits through the insurance program, along with another 8 million under the Supplemental Security Income program for poor people who are not eligible for Social Security. Last year the two programs paid $197 billion in benefits.

The average benefit is $1,037 a month. And it is not a giveaway. A doctor must certify that a disability is severe enough to prevent the applicant from working and that it will persist for at least a year or pose a risk of death.

It is apparent that the system itself is disabled and in need of rapid rehabilitation.

The Associated Press reported Monday that the main disability program has a waiting list of more than 1 million people seeking hearings to determine their eligibility, and that more than 7,000 people died last year while awaiting a hearing. The average wait time for hearing has grown from 353 days in 2012 to 602 days. In 2012, 816,575 people were on the waiting list compared to 1,067,616 now, although the number has declined over the last year from 1,121,519.

A hearing is the last resort for someone seeking disability benefits. Each case goes through application and reconsideration phases before a hearing. During the long process, applicants' physical and financial conditions often deteriorate, a problem that worsens as waiting lists and waiting times lengthen.

The Social Security Administration says it plans to hire 500 more administrative law judges, a number equal to 31 percent of the 1,600 administrative law judges already on the job.

That begs the questions of why that key staff shortage developed in the first place and whether the system's earlier stages need to be improved to prevent so many appeals.

Nobody is getting rich on the disability programs, which are funded through dedicated taxes. The agency and Congress should ensure that the system becomes far more efficient in adjudicating claims by people who most often have no other options.

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