Social Security: Stimulus Funds Set to Reduce Backlog of Disability Claims...

The Social Security Administration (SSA) received $1 billion in funding from the federal government's stimulus bill. Now the questions lingering in the minds of most Americans are: 1) what will they do with the money? And, 2) how and when will their spending alleviate the backlog of claims? Well, here's the breakdown:

• The SSA is home to the largest e-health records repository in the world, but they're running out of space. To this end, $750 million will be spent on a mega-data center that will serve as a backup facility for:
  • The ever-growing amount of electronic health records;
  • New data that comes into the agency on a daily basis, including the earning records of more than 200 million people; and
  • Even more extensive data on 56 million recipients of Social Security benefits. 
• Since the mega-data center will not be complete and functional for five years, $250 million will be added to the agency's regular budget to build a National Computer Center in the interim and to buy new hardware and software. 
• $40 million will also be added to the agency's regular budget to replace their antiquated disability claims processing system, which is stuck in a backlog of 570,000 claims.

The story continues: Alleviating the Backlog of Disability Claims