Imagine this: A woman with a serious illness is discharged from the hospital. Her doctor advises her to stop working. To find out what social security disability benefits she could get, she sits at her home computer and requests a Personal Earnings and Benefit Estimate Statement via the Internet. In seconds, her earnings history and a benefit estimate appear on the screen.
She calls the Social Security Administration's 800 number to schedule an appointment to file a disability claim.
During the claims interview, with her permission, the social security worker verifies her date of birth by searching on-line state vital statistics records and retrieves electronic medical evidence documenting her disability. She does not have to bring her birth certificate to the social security office or contact the hospital for her medical records. After a determination is made that she is disabled, her monthly benefit will be deposited directly into her bank account, giving her access to the money immediately without having to leave home to cash a check. The Social Security Administration takes care of coordinating the direct deposit enrollment with her bank based on information she gave to the social security worker at the time she filed her disability claim.
Chapter A01, Access America, Reengineering Through Information Technology