A big new federal government efficiency project could ease some of the remaining barriers to the use of electronic signatures.
The administration of President Joe Biden is calling on the Social Security Administration to try to reduce the use of physical documentation and in-person visits in program administration efforts.
Biden says the SSA should look for other ways to verify that people are who they say they are and to decide whether the evidence that applicants are eligible for benefits is real.
The SSA handles applications and disputes involving Medicare Part A coverage, Medicare Part B coverage and Social Security Disability Insurance as well as Social Security retirement income benefits.
The SSA should "develop a mobile-accessible, online process so that any individual applying for or receiving services from the Social Security Administration can upload forms, documentation, evidence, or correspondence associated with their transaction without the need for service-specific tools or traveling to a field office," according to a new federal customer experience executive order that appeared recently in the Federal Register.
Biden acknowledges in the order that, in some cases, laws or practical considerations may require the SSA to continue to require the use of physical signatures, paper documents and in-person meetings.
But the SSA should do what it can to revise any regulations, forms, instructions or batches of guidance that now require members of the public to provide physical signatures, Biden says.
The SSA should also, "consistent with applicable law and to the extent practicable, maintain a public policy of technology neutrality with respect to acceptable forms of electronic signatures," Biden says.
High-Impact Service Providers
Congress and presidential administrations have tried to ease federal administrative burdens many times in the past.
