Indirect Costs Claimed by the Oregon Disability Determination Services
Office Affiliation: The Office of Audit
Audit Report Number: A-09-14-24140
Disability determinations under the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income programs are performed by disability determination services (DDS) in each State in accordance with Federal regulations. Each DDS is responsible for determining claimants’ disabilities and ensuring adequate evidence is available to support its determinations. To assist in making proper disability determinations, each DDS is authorized to purchase medical examinations, x-rays, and laboratory tests on a consultative basis to supplement evidence obtained from the claimants’ physicians or other treating sources. SSA reimburses each DDS for 100 percent of allowable expenditures. The expenditures include both direct and indirect costs.
For FYs 2011 through 2013, SSA reimbursed the Oregon Department of Human Services $81.1 million in administrative expenses, including $6.1 million in indirect costs.
The objective of this report is to determine whether the indirect costs claimed by the Oregon DDS for FY 2011 through 2013 were allowable.