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Why the GAO Sees Disability Programs as 'High Risk'

Posted: March 07, 2011

Since 2003 the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has included federal disability programs on its annual list of programs it considers “high risk.” The term “high risk” means the programs under question need to be modernized and consolidated. According to the GAO there are almost 200 separate federal programs for the disabled, contributing to a system that does not provide any unified strategy or common goals. One shortfall of these programs, says the GAO, is that new technologies both in medicine and in today’s workplace are not taken into account in determining whether the disabled are capable of being employed. Additionally, since older people are more likely to become disabled and our society is aging, the agencies that provide disability benefits such as the Social Security Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense, are being inundated with claims. The recent recession also caused many people who would otherwise have remained employed turn to disability benefits to provide at least a minimal income. It has become difficult, the GAO reports, for these agencies to respond to their workloads in a timely and efficient manner.

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