102 Iowa L. Rev. 1361 (2017)

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Abstract

This Note examines the use of medical experts in the disability determination process for the Social Security Agency’s (“SSA”) two primary disability programs: Social Security Disability Insurance (“SSDI”) and Supplement Security Income (“SSI”). Specifically, this Note focuses on the use of medical consultants at the initial disability determination level and considers how the lack of medical specialty among these consultants contributes to the inconsistencies among state Disability Determination Services (“DDSs”) and Administrative Law Judges (“ALJs”). As a result, this Note argues that the medical consultants used at the initial disability determination process lack the necessary, specialized medical knowledge to adequately and quickly process the increasing number of SSI and SSDI applications each year. Because these medical consultants are extremely important in the initial disability determination phase, the SSA should make specific efforts to train the consultants already employed by the DDSs in particular medical areas and should make medical experts more readily available at the DDS and ALJ levels of review. Alternatively, this Note proposes that the SSA should collect and analyze its data regarding medical consultants and should update its regulations to require DDSs and ALJs to better explain their use of medical experts in their disability opinions so that the issue can be better observed and recorded.