From the Social Security Update, e-broadcast today:
Beginning in April, many people applying for Social Security disability benefits will be able to sign and submit the Authorization to Disclose Information to Social Security (Form SSA-827) form electronically, as the last part of the online process.
When claimants file for Social Security disability insurance or SSI benefits, they generally sign form SSA-827 (Authorization to Disclose Information to SSA), which serves as the claimants’ written request to a medical provider or other source to release information to us. Currently, claimants generally sign the SSA-827 so that SSA can obtain medical and other records related to the claim. Acquiring a signature on this form can often take weeks, causing unnecessary delays in processing claims for one of the most vulnerable segments of our population.
Social Security requests more than 15 million medical records each year on behalf of people applying for disability benefits. A signed SSA-827 accompanies each request. By accepting electronically signed forms, medical providers will help their patients’ claims go through faster. On average, this should reduce disability application processing time by nine days per claim.
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and other applicable laws permit the use of electronic signatures, and Social Security is encouraging medical providers to treat the new electronic signature the same as they would a “wet” signature on the SSA-827.
