When Elon Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) was running roughshod over the Social Security Administration (SSA) last year, experts warned it could spell disaster for disabled, ill, and aging Americans who depend on its programs. A March 2026 report by the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF) and the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) offers insights into just how dire the situation has become.
The new report is based on interviews with more than 50 benefits specialists working at dozens of organizations nationwide that, together, assist about 8,000 claimants each year in obtaining and maintaining Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI). Those programs provide financial assistance to about 13.5 million older Americans and those with disabilities.
The programs have long been criticized for their inadequacy and steep barriers to access. Now, things are getting worse.
Contradictions and a lack of accountability were among the common issues identified in the DREDF and AAPD report. Others include challenges with a new phone system, inconsistent and confusing field office policies, longer processing times, more denials and errors, and an increased number of overpayments and payment center issues.
These problems are likely the result of a series of changes to SSA’s customer service processes that began soon after Donald Trump returned to the White House on a mission to gut the federal workforce and slash spending on social services.
Problems with the phone system are particularly damaging because, under a Biden-era policy that went into effect in January 2025, applicants are encouraged to call and schedule appointments rather than dropping in and taking a number at their local field office. Some offices have tried to enforce a blanket no-walk-ins policy, according to the DREDF and AAPD report. Many of those local offices may shutter altogether.
There has also been a push for applicants to handle their cases entirely online. [Matthew Borus, a professor at Binghamton University] told Truthout that it “goes with the DOGE-brained push toward ‘Let’s just automate everything and do it online and then maybe we won’t actually need staff.’”
But an online-only application process is unrealistic for many eligible for SSI/SSDI. As one interviewee put it in the DREDF and AAPD report, that process is inaccessible to “people who aren’t computer savvy, who use a smartphone instead of a computer, [or] who don’t have reliable internet access” including both “someone who’s in their 20s, but unhoused” and “someone who’s in their 70s and having issues with memory loss.”
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