SSA Reverses Newly Imposed Restrictions on Birth and Death Reporting in Maine

Today the Social Security Administration (SSA), which had abruptly terminated in Maine a long-standing nationwide policy under which parents can apply for a Social Security number (SSN) for their newborns in the hospital, reversed course after a public outcry. Also under the withdrawn policy, families in Maine would no longer have been allowed to report the deaths of their loved ones at funeral homes as they apply for death certificates; instead, they would have needed to complete a separate, paper-based process.

SSA Acting Commissioner Lee Dudek acknowledged that the policy, which had been imposed without explanation and apparently only in Maine, would have “created an undue burden on the people of Maine,” not only for new parents and grieving families but also for other Mainers seeking to access SSA services. In addition, it would have increased SSA’s improper payments and costs and affected other government and private-sector programs families rely on.

For nearly 30 years, SSA has allowed new parents to apply for an SSN for their newborns in the hospital; over 99 percent of babies born in the United States get their SSNs this way. Likewise, for decades, SSA has allowed grieving families to report the deaths of their loved ones at funeral homes, which convey the information to SSA. In Maine alone, more than 12,000 births and 17,000 deaths occurred last year, nearly all of which were reported to SSA quickly through these electronic processes.

SSA’s electronic birth and death reporting reduces burdens on new parents and grieving families at stressful times in their lives. The ability to report a birth in the maternity ward or a death in a funeral home frees families from having to submit an application with accompanying documentation directly to SSA. Ease of electronic reporting particularly helps rural families, who would have to travel the farthest to reach an SSA office.

SSA’s Enumeration at Birth (EAB) and Electronic Death Registration (EDR) programs, whose contracts with Maine were temporarily ended under the withdrawn order, are also very valuable to SSA and the states. They simplify critical administrative functions, saving significant staff time and money. These efficiencies are particularly important because SSA is already struggling to meet customer demand due to funding cuts and an increase in the number of beneficiaries. SSA’s customer service problem is expected to worsen significantly after the agency cuts 7,000 staff, as announced last week.

Receiving batches of birth and death data from states automatically is highly efficient, saving administrative costs. It also helps prevent improper payments in the Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) programs.

In fact, automatic death reporting is SSA’s first line of defense against mistakenly continuing to pay Social Security or SSI benefits after a beneficiary’s death. President Trump and “DOGE” head Elon Musk have repeatedly made false statements in recent weeks about large numbers of dead people receiving Social Security benefits. (The President repeated these claims in his March 4 address to Congress, after they had been widely debunked.) In reality, Social Security has a payment accuracy rate of over 99 percent.

Ensuring the prompt, accurate recording of births and deaths at SSA is also important beyond Social Security. SSNs are used widely in other public and private contexts. For example, parents need their babies’ SSNs to claim their children on their taxes, receive the Child Tax Credit, and access other benefits.

Though the birth and death reporting contracts with Maine have now been reinstated, SSA has permanently canceled the collection of race and ethnicity data in EAB for five states — Arizona, Maryland, Michigan, New Mexico, and Rhode Island — as well as the Northern Mariana Islands. That data-collection initiative, begun by the Biden Administration, was intended to identify, monitor, and address inequities in how SSA serves its customers. Canceling the race and ethnicity contracts, announced at DOGE.gov, was a response to the President’s sweeping executive order on diversity, equity, and inclusion.