St. Louis Post Dispatch On Backlogs

From the St. Louis Post Dispatch:

Mark Denny's disability hearing took place Monday at the Social Security Administration office in Creve Coeur. An administrative judge was there, as were lawyers and Mr. Denny's mother and sister.

Mark Denny himself wasn't there. He died on Jan. 24, 2006 — two weeks after being told he wasn't sick enough to collect federal disability insurance, and shortly after he decided to appeal.

His case isn't unusual, though most clients don't die during the average 486 days it takes from the time a disability appeal is filed with the Social Security Administration in St. Louis until a hearing can be held. It takes even longer in Kansas City: 684 days.

The problem isn't caused by lazy civil servants. The judges who preside over disability appeals face a crushing caseload, as do the Social Security employees who process the paperwork. Federal funding for their agency hasn't kept pace with demographics. Aging baby boomers have now reached their 50s and 60s. That's the age range of most people who file federal disability claims.