Some analysts worry that following enactment of the welfare-to-work law earlier this year, most states are taking part in a kind of welfare shell game. They are shifting welfare recipients they think might be eligible for disability payments into two programs paid for through federal funds. Thus, states shift the cost of welfare programs back on the Feds, saving the states millions of dollars annually.

• Even before the new law took effect, Pennsylvania helped 18,700 people move onto disability rolls between July 1, 1994 and June 30, 1995 -- saving the state about $69 million.

• Critics say welfare advocates are actively recruiting welfare recipients who might be eligible for disability benefits to file their applications and appeal many cases rejected by federal medical reviewers.

• While there are now time limits to welfare payments.

• The two federal disability programs, both run by the Social Security Administration, are the Supplemental Security Income program and the disability insurance fund -- paying out a total of $1 billion in benefits each week.

The General Accounting Office has noted that both programs fail to review cases in a timely manner and halt benefits to those who are no longer disabled. Applicants who are initially rejected for SSI assistance and who appeal to an administrative law judge are nearly always successful in having their rejection reversed, officials say.

Source: Laura M. Litvan, "A Welfare-Reform Boondoggle?" Investor's Business Daily, November 26, 1996.