August 31, 1999

Thompson letter on GPRA - SSA Attachment 1

OPEN GAO RECOMMENDATIONS ON HIGH-RISK AREA:

SUPPLEMENTAL SECURITY INCOME (SSI)

Description of high-risk area: SSI is the nation’s largest cash assistance program for the poor. Last year, the program paid about 6.6 million low-income aged, blind, or disabled recipients about $27 billion. Since assuming responsibility for SSI in 1974, SSA has been significantly challenged in its efforts to serve the diverse needs of recipients while still protecting the financial integrity of the program. In fiscal year 1998, current and former SSI recipients owed SSA more than $3.3 billion in overpaid benefits, including $1.2 billion in newly detected overpayments for the year. The magnitude of overpayments involved and SSA’s inability to recover outstanding SSI debt were significant factors in GAO’s decision to designate SSI a high-risk program in February 1997.

Date	GAO Report	Recommendation
2/96	HEHS-96-51	Gather more data on the Program to Achieve Self Support ("PASS") and use it to evaluate the program’s impact on return-to-work outcomes.
8/96	HEHS-96-152	Obtain information from local jails on former prisoners to determine if they received erroneous SSI payments; if so, attempt recovery.
3/98	HEHS-98-75	Access Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) new hire and quarterly wages databases to detect undisclosed earnings during SSI eligibility determinations.
3/98	HEHS-98-75	Study the feasibility of obtaining computerized data from financial institutions to detect accounts that SSI clients are not reporting.
5/98	HEHS-98-123	Update medical listings to incorporate medical advances and reflect a uniform standard of severity for disability determinations.
9/98	HEHS-98-158	Accelerate efforts to identify timely and complete sources for verifying SSI financial eligibility information.
9/98	HEHS-98-158	Continue efforts to obtain and implement additional overpayment deterrence and debt collection tools commonly used by other means-tested programs, such as credit bureau reporting and collection agencies.
9/98	HEHS-98-158	Reevaluate and make appropriate revisions to personnel evaluation and incentive structures to encourage better verification of recipient information and give greater attention to fraud prevention and detection, including specific requirements and performance measures in this area.
9/98	HEHS-98-158	Better utilize SSA’s policy development component to address SSI program policies that have placed the program at high risk. This includes advancing legislative proposals.
9/98	HEHS-98-158	Develop an SSI-focused strategy or plan with clearly defined priorities, goals, and measures to address the most serious SSI program challenges.
1/99	HEHS-99-11	Implement a cost-effective method for ensuring that data on child support collections for children receiving SSI are made available to SSA and used for eligibility determinations.