The Krause Chronicles: Developing the Claim File—From Paper to Electronic Folders
July 24, 2024
Tom Krause, NOSSCR Litigation Director
I started representing disability claimants in 1982. Over the years, I watched the technological transition at SSA and in my work, including the change from paper to electronic files. What a long, strange trip it’s been. And the journey is not over yet.
When I started working for Legal Aid, we had a photocopier – and that’s all it did. No scanning, no faxing, no collating, no stapling, just copying. We used hand-held recorders with micro-cassette tapes. The support staff had a Dictaphone to transcribe the dictation. The transcriber used a foot pedal to start and stop the tape hands-free. And we did not have a computer or a word processor, just electric typewriters.[1]
SSA’s claims files were paper. SSA numbered the exhibits starting with “Ex. 1/1.” SSA assigned non-medical exhibits (such as the application) lower numbers and medical records higher numbers. The exhibit and page numbers were hand-written in the lower right corner. The numbers were written in pencil, so they could be changed. Often the numbers smudged and, even if not smudged, the photocopied exhibit numbers were hard to read.
At that time, many of the medical records were handwritten. I recall spending hours and hours reviewing handwritten medical records. At least we didn’t have to wade through five pages of boilerplate language to find the one paragraph of new notes.
Another big problem – SSA often lost folders. SSA had huge warehouses for storing files (and probably still does), including a “Megasite.” The Megasite is a 130,000-square-foot facility with 14-tier shelving and catwalks. The building holds 10 million folders. We often compared SSA’s file storage system to the last scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark.
The next step in developing the claim folder was the five-pocket Paper Modular Disability Folder (MDF).[2] There are a few of these around, primarily for cessation cases. The MDF first used the now-familiar file organization:
- Part A (Yellow Tab – front) – Payment Documents/Decision
- Part B (Red Tab) – Jurisdictional Documents/Notices
- Part C (Green Tab) – Current Development/Temporary
- Part D (Orange Tab) – Non-Disability Development
- Part E (Blue Tab) – Disability-Related Development and Documentation
- Part F (Yellow Tab – back) – Medical Records
Hallex I-2-1-10. For concurrent claims, the MDF contained the Title II application and documentation. A brown folder stapled to the back of the MDF contained the Title XVI application and related documents.
SSA began providing representatives with copies of the claims file on a CD in the early 2000s. The eDib initiative aimed to transition the disability claims process from paper to electronic files. By the mid-2000s, it became standard practice for SSA to provide representatives with electronic copies of claims files on CDs. SSA first allowed representatives to access claims files online through the Electronic Records Express (ERE) system in August 2007. ERE provided representatives secure online access to their clients’ electronic disability claims files. In 2018, SSA added the Hearing Office Status Report and, a year later, the Appeals Council Status Report.
More recently, SSA added Initial Claims and Reconsideration Claims (IC/RC) and IC/RC reports to ERE. Just last month, SSA began including additional fields on the IC/RC report. NOSSCR is working with SSA to improve representatives’ online access to their claimants’ files, and we expect to see ongoing improvements in the coming years as SSA works to modernize their systems. But what a journey it has been—while we are all longing for more electronic access, I just thought it would be fun to pause for a moment and appreciate that at least we aren’t still wandering through a cave looking for lost documents (at least, not most of the time…).
[1] Yes, an Addresser, DOT No. 209.587-010, was a real job then.
