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Member, Beacon International Group, Ltd.
A recent “60 Minutes” television segment, available below, focused on the federal disability program now serving 12 million Americans and how it's out of control and rampant with fraud.
It's a good segment looking at profiteering attorneys, doctors who certify people as disabled when they are not, and program administrators who accept applications from people who are not really disabled.
I have written about the problem before and how it impacts workers compensation payers and how a growing trend of disability is driven by people in their 50s with poor job prospects. That story is available here.
According to the “60 Minutes” report, each new case costs taxpayers an average of $300,000 over the life of the claim. The entire program now costs $135 billion, more than we spend on the Justice Department, Labor Department, and Homeland Security combined.
Meanwhile, the number of retiring Long Island Railroad workers applying for disability benefits has dropped by 50%, according to a Newsday story available here. Prosecutors went after fraudsters, which discouraged some new filings.