Background
The mission of the Social Security Administration (SSA) is to provide quality Social Security services to the public. It collects death data, including death data from state vital records offices, to administer its programs. It also shares state death data with federal benefits paying agencies under Section 205(r) of the Social Security Act for purposes of preventing improper payments to deceased individuals. SSA contracted with the National Academy of Public Administration (the Academy) to conduct an independent study of the current and potential sources for, and provision of access to, state death data for limited use by federal agencies and programs for purposes of program administration and payment integrity.
Project Description
Per Section 802 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, the Academy was pleased to conduct a Study and Report to Congress on the Sources of and Access to State Death Data. The study was performed in consultation with SSA, the Treasury Department's Bureau of the Fiscal Service, and the National Association of Public Health Statistics and Information Systems, in accordance with Section 802. As required by the Appropriations Act, the Academy conducted an: