In late September 2024, Hurricane Helene severely impacted the western Appalachian region of North Carolina, causing more than 100 reported deaths and significant destruction of communication infrastructure.
Federal policy through the Social Security Administration only allows staff with NCDHHS’ Disability Determination Services (NCDDS) to communicate with people applying for disability benefits through phone calls, faxing and mailings via United States Postal Services.
With more than 6,000 disability claims from people impacted by Hurricane Helene and strained phone/postal service communications, NCDDS advocated for a federal policy exception to contact people applying for disability benefits by email. The team dubbed the project: “You’ve got mail.”
In December 2024, NCDDS received approval by Social Security Administration to communicate with beneficiaries who were impacted by the hurricane via email and were asked to develop a 90-day pilot program.
Since inception, 32 NCDDS processing teams have participated in the pilot, which has helped to streamline communication and avoid untimely delays. NCDDS ensured the security of personal identifiable information during the pilot program.
The pilot program ended in April and has proven that emailing beneficiaries greatly improves processing times for their claims - resulting in an average response time of 39 days versus 197 days for people who did not have access to email. The program also has the potential to reduce mailing costs by more than $700,000 annually.
DDS asked beneficiaries their thoughts on moving to email to communicate about disability benefit claims. One beneficiary responded: “I love the idea of being able to receive email versus mail. I’m homeless and so getting mail is not easy for me.” Another beneficiary responded: “It was much easier to get the email. I recently moved and the mail is still not running as normal.”
Now that the pilot project is complete, NCDDS has recommended that the Social Security Administration start allowing communication via email with people applying for disability benefits, as it allows for more efficient delivery of services and substantial cost savings.