Doctors pressured to work faster to move SS disability cases

See Doctor Revolt Shakes Disability Program from the 11-21 WSJ. Excerpts:

"Doctors had to work faster to move cases. Instead of earning $90 an hour, as they had previously, they would receive about $80 per case"

"it no longer mattered if doctors strayed far from their areas of expertise when taking a case."

""The implication there was that you really didn't have to be that careful and study the whole thing," said Rodrigo Toro, a neurologist who analyzed cases for the Social Security Administration for more than 10 years."

"Several doctors said medical opinions were now prone to inaccuracy since many specialists don't have the backgrounds to make decisions outside their areas of expertise. The new policy could make doctors more likely to award benefits to those who don't qualify and deny benefits to those who are entitled,"

"an eye doctor was assigned back-pain cases, several doctors said. A dermatologist reviewed the files of someone who had a stroke. A gastroenterologist reviewed the case of someone with partial deafness,"

"many of the doctors haven't practiced outside their specialty in decades,"

""People who shouldn't be getting [disability] are getting it, and people who should be getting it aren't getting it," said Neil Novin, former chief of surgery at Baltimore's Harbor Hospital,"

"Dr. Novin said, he was pressured by a supervisor to change his medical opinion and award benefits to someone he didn't believe had disabilities that would prevent the person from working.

"I will not sign my name, MD, on this," Dr. Novin recalled telling the official. He said he was cited for being "offensive and intimidating" and fired. Dr. Novin can't recall details of the case, he said, but it was outside his area of specialization."

"Supervisors told them that certain ailments should be considered "severe," even if the doctors disagreed."

"some doctors have complained to the Social Security inspector general that they have been pressured to change their medical opinions to conform to targets or goals set by SSA officials"

"a doctor in the Alabama disability determination office who approved between 80 and 100 decisions a day. Another Alabama doctor signed off on 30 cases an hour after performing only a "cursory review of each case." The investigation said several doctors complained of pressure from superiors to approve a higher number of applications to meet statistical goals."

"The Social Security Disability Insurance program paid $124 billion in benefits in 2010, up from $55 billion in 2001."

The CPI was up only 23% in this time. The SSDI was up 125%. The CPI increased 2.35% compounded annually while SSDI increased 9.45%. It increased at 4 times the rate of inflation.