Disability Examiner
Work for Indiana
Grow your career with the State of Indiana! With more than 50 executive branch agencies, the State of Indiana is a diverse workforce offering employees stimulating and challenging projects across a broad scope of career opportunities. As a State of Indiana employee, you impact the well-being of Indiana’s communities every day.
At the State of Indiana, we don’t just talk about diversity and inclusion – Our goal is to create a welcoming, accessible, and equitable workplace, with a workforce that is representative of the State of Indiana population. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer.
About the Family & Social Services Administration (FSSA):
FSSA was established by the Indiana General Assembly in 1991 to consolidate and better integrate the delivery of human services by state government. FSSA is a health care and social services funding agency. Ninety-four percent of the agency’s total budget is paid to thousands of service providers ranging from major medical centers to a physical therapist working with a child or adult with a developmental disability. The six care divisions in FSSA administer services to more than 1.5 million Hoosiers. FSSA’s mission is to compassionately serve Hoosiers of all ages and connect them with social services, health care and their communities.
Disability Determination Bureau
Title II (Disability Insurance) covers workers who have established eligibility through prior work and Title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) has a needs-based income and resource eligibility requirement. The purpose of these programs is to identify people who have disabilities that preclude the ability to work, or for children, preclude the ability to fully participate in learning activities. These programs have two desired outcomes. The first desired outcome is to correctly identify disabled adults and children. The second desired outcome is to have adults with potential referred to a public or private Vocational Rehabilitation Services, through the Social Security Administration’s “Ticket to Work” program.
Salary: The annual minimum starting salary for this position is $ 41,834.00.
About the Job:
The Disability Claims Adjudicator is responsible for making medical decisions of eligibility for Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income Benefits. This role provides services to disabled citizens of Indiana, by determining medical requirements for these benefits. This individual works closely with the staff physicians and psychologists on the interpretation of medical/psychological test results and severity ratings.
A Day in the Life:
The essential functions of this role are as follows:
- The Disability Claims Adjudicator reviews the disability report and determines the evidence needed to document medical and non-medical facts of record
- Authorization is made by the Adjudicator for the purchase of medical records and special consultative examinations
- This role makes the determination of eligibility for Presumptive Disability/Blindness payments to effectuate early receipt of cash benefits
- Communicates the rights, responsibilities and guidelines of the Social Security Disability Program to claimants, attorneys, medical community and the public
- Excellent phone etiquette requiring oral and auditory communications skills
- Ability to research Social Security Administration program references to determine severity ratings, residual functional capacity assessments, vocational assessments and other case transactions
- This individual analyzes the medical data which requires the ability to quickly read voluminous documents in both paper and electronic format, many of which are scanned images of handwritten medical notes
- This role confers with clinical psychologists and physicians, assesses credibility of symptoms, assigns controlling weight of medical opinions and drafts residual functional capacity assessments
- Ability to use multiple computer programs, key data quickly and efficiently and simultaneously work with paper documents is essential
- This individual prepares the final determinations of eligibility and writes grammatically and technically correct notices of decisions.
The job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee. Other duties, responsibilities and activities may change or be assigned at any time.
What You'll Need for Success:
A Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university is required.
- Advanced knowledge and the ability to understand and apply established principals, policies and guidelines of the Social Security Administration such as sequential evaluation of cases, program operations procedures, Privacy Act, Freedom of Information Act, Social Security Rulings, court decisions, vocational rules and internal business processes
- Ability to research medical references, such as the Merck Manual, Physicians’ Desk Reference and Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
- The Disability Claims Adjudicator must possess excellent organizational skills and the ability to quickly read voluminous documents in both paper and electronic format, many of which are scanned images of handwritten medical notes is required
- Excellent oral and auditory communications skills
- The ability to use multiple computer programs, key data quickly and efficiently and simultaneously work with paper documents is essential.
Supervisory Responsibilities/Direct Reports:
This role does not provide direct supervision to direct reports.
Benefits of Employment with the State of Indiana:
The State of Indiana offers a comprehensive benefit package for full-time employees which includes:
- Three (3) medical plan options (including RX coverage) and vision/dental coverages
- Wellness program (offers premiums discount for the medical plan)
- Health savings account (includes bi-weekly state contribution)
- Deferred compensation account (similar to 401k plan) with employer match
- Two (2) fully-funded pension plan options
- Group life insurance
- Employee assistance program that allows for covered behavioral health visits
- Paid vacation, personal and sick time off
- Competitive leave policies covering a variety of employee needs
- 12 company paid holidays, 14 on election years
- Qualified employer for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program
- New Parent Leave
- Free Parking
- Free LinkedIn Learning
Equal Employment Opportunity:
The State of Indiana is an Equal Opportunity Employer.