Social Security, OIG Partner with Michigan on Anti-Fraud Unit
August 14, 2014
Cooperative Effort among Federal, State Agencies to Prevent Disability Fraud
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 15, 2014
The Social Security Administration (SSA), its Office of the Inspector General (OIG), and the Michigan Department of Human Services today announced a new Cooperative Disability Investigations (CDI) Unit in Detroit. As part of the nationwide CDI Program, the Detroit Unit will identify and prevent Social Security disability fraud throughout the State of Michigan.
The CDI program is one of Social Security’s most successful anti-fraud initiatives, contributing to the integrity of Federal disability programs. CDI brings together personnel from SSA, its OIG, State Disability Determination Services (DDS), and local law enforcement agencies to analyze and investigate suspicious or questionable Social Security disability claims, to help resolve questions of potential fraud before benefits are ever paid. CDI efforts help disability examiners make informed decisions, ensure payment accuracy, and generate significant taxpayer savings, for both Federal and State programs.
“For more than 16 years, CDI has had tremendous success in identifying and preventing disability fraud and abuse,” said Social Security Inspector General Patrick P. O’Carroll, Jr. “We’re very pleased to partner with the Michigan Department of Human Services to expand our efforts to combat fraud and to ensure the integrity of Social Security’s disability programs for the citizens of Michigan.”
With the opening of the Detroit Unit, the CDI program now consists of 26 units covering 22 States and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. The Detroit CDI Unit is the first of seven new CDI units that SSA and the OIG plan to establish by the end of fiscal year 2016, as part of a renewed agency effort to root out disability fraud and preserve benefits for those who truly deserve them.
“Social Security’s most successful collaboration with the OIG in the area of disability fraud investigation and prevention is the CDI program. These units play a critical role in preventing fraud and investigating complex conspiracies and we are excited to establish a new unit in Detroit,” said Carolyn W. Colvin, Acting Commissioner of Social Security. “I thank the Michigan Department of Human Services for their involvement, and Social Security will continue to expand the number of CDI units throughout the country to combat fraud and preserve public trust in our programs.”
The Detroit CDI Unit will include an OIG special agent, an SSA program expert, a State disability examiner and an investigative analyst, and two investigators from the Michigan OIG. Both the Michigan DDS and OIG operate within the Michigan Department of Human Services (DHS).
“I am excited about this state and federal partnership. Working together, we can be better stewards of taxpayer dollars and make sure that disability assistance helps people who are truly in need,” said Michigan DHS Director Maura D. Corrigan. “Cracking down on fraud has been one of my top priorities. The CDI Unit provides another important tool for these important efforts.”
SSA and its OIG jointly established the CDI program in 1997. Since CDI was established, CDI efforts have contributed to $2.8 billion in projected savings to Social Security’s programs, and $1.8 billion in projected savings to related Federal and State programs. For more information on the CDI program, click here.
Public citizens who would like to report suspected disability fraud should contact the Social Security Fraud Hotline at http://oig.ssa.gov/report; send U.S. Mail to PO Box 17768, Baltimore, MD, 21235; fax (410) 597-0118; or call (800) 269-0271 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday.
For more information, please contact the OIG's Office of External Relations at (410) 965-2671.
