Social Security Administration Joins the TEFCA Network to Speed Up Disability Benefits Decisions
The Social Security Administration (SSA) is taking an important step to improve how we serve the public by joining the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement™ (TEFCA™) network. By selecting eHealth Exchange™ as our Qualified Health Information Network® (QHIN™), SSA will be able to access additional national interoperability networks, helping us acquire electronic health information faster and more securely.
Why This Matters for Disability Benefits
SSA administers the largest disability benefit program in the country, supporting millions of Americans each year. We receive about 2 million disability benefit claims annually, and each claim requires objective medical evidence to support the determination process. Timely and secure access to electronic health information is essential to making sure eligible individuals receive benefit decisions as quickly as possible – especially during times of significant medical and financial need.
A Longstanding Partnership
SSA has been working with eHealth Exchange for nearly two decades, starting with the first live exchange in 2009. Today, eHealth Exchange supports millions of data exchanges with SSA every year. This trusted partnership has helped us reach healthcare organizations, hospitals, practices, and providers on both the eHealth Exchange and Carequality networks for the automated release of electronic health information.
Jay Nakashima, president of eHealth Exchange, shared, “SSA has been a cornerstone partner since the very beginning of our network, and we are honored to continue that relationship as the agency’s QHIN under TEFCA. From the first exchange in 2009 to supporting billions of transactions today, our shared focus has always been on trust, transparency, and measurable impact. This connection underscores the power of TEFCA to support critical government missions and deliver real value to agencies, providers, and most importantly, the individuals they serve.”
What’s Next?
SSA is currently in the testing phase of our connection to the eHealth Exchange QHIN and expects to be live on the TEFCA exchange by early spring of 2026. This new approach will allow us to more precisely direct our queries and significantly improve processing times. In fact, interoperability can reduce claim processing by more than 50 percent in many cases, meaning faster decisions and faster access to benefits for people applying during times of real need. Jay Ortis, Chief of Disability Adjudication at SSA said, “Choosing a trusted partner like eHealth Exchange as our QHIN strengthens SSA’s Government Benefits Determination use case under TEFCA and will serve to streamline our disability determination process. With this digital-first approach, we are able to accurately direct our queries and significantly reduce processing times of disability claims, which means faster decisions and timely access to benefits for Americans who need and deserve support during times of need.”
How Healthcare Providers Can Get Involved
If you are a healthcare organization, hospital, practice, or provider interested in learning more about how you can benefit your patients by interoperating with SSA, please visit our website at https://www.ssa.gov/hit/index.html.
SSA is committed to using technology and trusted partnerships to improve service delivery and help Americans get the benefits they need, when they need them most. Stay tuned for more updates as we move forward with this important initiative.