Aug 2, 2007

Albany Times Union On Backlogs

When it comes to waiting for Social Security disability insurance benefit claims to be processed, New York state has a backlog bigger than the population of Troy.

More than 52,000 people statewide have been waiting months or years for decisions on their applications, according to two groups that researched the problem. It's the 18th worst showing among the states in disability backlogs.

Albany is in the district of Mike McNulty, the chairman of the House Social Security Subcommittee.

The article also contains this, which may make a few people cringe:

"The Social Security crisis is already here today, manifesting itself first in the disability program," said Allsup, who was a claims and field representative for the agency before starting his company, which represents disability applicants. "They are a direct reflection of staffing problems that Social Security has."

The rankings were also compiled by the American Association of People with Disabilities, the nation's largest cross-disability membership organizations. Andrew J. Imparato, president and CEO of the not-for-profit, said the wait is keeping seriously disabled Americans from getting insurance they paid for.

I had earlier posted about the apparent alliance between Allsup and the American Association of People with Disabilities, which until this alliance seemed to have little interest in Social Security disability matters.

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