Objective

Our objective was to assess the Social Security Administration's (SSA) efforts to streamline the disability claims process for Military Service Casualty Cases (MSCC).

Background

The Military Service Casualty initiative is a commitment by SSA to provide expedited disability claim services to wounded service members and their families.  SSA established procedures to expedite disability claims for any military service personnel injured October 1, 2001 or later, provided that injury occurred while they were on active duty. 

Our Findings

Generally, we found that SSA’s efforts to streamline the disability process for MSCCs were successful.  Overall, SSA processed most cases identified as MSCC in fewer days than the national average.  However, based on our sample results, the Agency may not have identified all cases that qualified as MSCCs and may not have coded all claims that received expedited processing as MSCCs.  As a result, we estimate that SSA may have

• failed to expedite 5,182 cases that met the criteria for MSCC processing and

Our Recommendation

To improve the effectiveness of MSCCs, we recommend that SSA ensure that all claimants who qualify for expedited processing under MSCC criteria are identified and coded properly.

SSA agreed with the recommendation.