The National Council of Social Security Management Associations (NCSSMA) has posted on its website a letter it is sending to Linda McMahon, Social Security's Deputy Commissioner for Operations, setting forth NCSSMA's recommendations for increased efficiency. I will excerpt just a few of these recommendations:
- Eliminate the dedicated account provisions [for children's SSI benefits] and installments [in payments of SSI benefits].
- T16 [Title XVI, or SSI] windfall offset reform; allow payment of retroactive benefits of either T2 or T16 payments.
- Eliminate need for medical CDR [Continuing Disability Review] for age 18 beneficiaries who have a permanent disability or meet a listing.
- Eliminate the Annual Earnings Test for all retirement claims if a cost analysis shows it to be cost neutral in terms of administrative costs involved in explaining it, administering it, overpayment collection activities, etc. versus drain on the trust fund.
- Eliminate the concept of SGA [Substantial Gainful Activity] for post-entitlement purposes, and extend the under FRA [Full Retirement Age] retirement work test to disability benefits.
- Stop medical CDRs on permanent impairments and for all disability beneficiaries over a certain age; and profile only those likely to be ceased.
- Have attorneys collect their own fees, and eliminate attorney fee withholding by SSA. If that cannot be done increase our fees to a more realistic amount.
- Put a dedicated computer in SSA FO [Field Office] lobbies for walk-in customers to get online services.
- Remove local office phone numbers from telephone books and provide the 800# so that this becomes the telephone portal to the agency. Calls could be transferred to local offices when needed.
- Add a field on 800# screens to collect customer's e-mail address. Also include a field for cell phones as this is a rapidly growing mode of communication for the public.
6 comments:
If any this is the one that should be adopted.
"Have attorneys collect their own fees, and eliminate attorney fee withholding by SSA."
In regards to what anonymous said, as a subsequent anonymous, I would say that having attorneys collect their own fees, or certified representatives collect their own fees, stems from an adversarial attitude which fails to understand the assistance and attorneys and certified non attorneys add to the process. The majority of Claimant Representatives simply hold the agency accountable. It may be that level of scrutiny contributes to the Field Office workload in the short run. In the long haul, most representatives save lives and ensure the FO employees treat claimants per the regulations.
Thus, perhaps a more sagacious response from anonymous 1 would be to increase FO staff, decrease their holidays and make salaries based on competence, not longevity. Perhaps not. However, the very suggestion reveals the hostility FOs hold for representatives - who are there for the claimants and paid no fees unless they do their job well enough to win, unlike SSA FO employees. Finally, I find it interesting that advocacy groups such as NOSSCR, NADR, and NADE suggest FO employees need assistance and more staff, whilst this anon 1. and the recommendations from the FO MGRs Group lack such empathy and or insight for the legal entities who act on behalf of the disabled who require representation to obtain benefits they are owed and would have if the FO, amongst other SSA entities, actually did their jobs accurately.
I posted the first response and I don't work in field office. SSA should not be the representative's collection agency. If a claimant and representative sign an agreement that's their business and SSA should not be involved in the collection or payment of the fee.
Being cynical I half think all the outrage here about the DIB backlog is that representatives don't get paid until there is a favorable decision.
I think these are wonderful suggestions. It's okay with me if SSA does not withhold attorney fees as long as they mail the back benefits check to my office and make it payable to me and my client, like insurance companies do in PI cases.
"Representatives don't get paid until there is a favorable decision."
Exactly the point. If there was a favorable decision when the claimant applied, i.e., if the FO/DDS worked together efficiently and worked with the claimant, no one would have to "wait" months, years until they were paid.
& the back benefits mailed to my office, indeed, with interest. That might prompt accuracy by SSA.
I was called in tp a FO on news year eve 2007 & told a worker miscounted my work credits on 5/6/2006 thus, I was on full SSI. Despite my filing a Waiver of Recapture of Overpayment of Title II in the final amount of $2,071. SSA changed the rule at play to admin offset. I had to turn down 6 jobs due to lack of car-jobs that paid $10-$12/hr. I offered to allow a suspension of my SSI just so that I could buy a car & take a job that I felt I could physically do ( I can't do my past work) I was denied. I am not sure how to fill out a PASS just to save money for a car (used) to do a different type of work. My county has extremely limited transit. I told SSA FO that I walk 1 mile to take a bus into the neighboring county to transfer to another bus company to get into the 'big city' this is a 2 hour trip one way = 4 hr.RT. the 'big city' is 25 miles away; I moved from there due to cost & condition of cheap housing to get public housing. my mind is blown. I was told I can only save a little money & can't use other resources to aid in savings. Another worker told me during my second meeting in 2008 that I could only get $20 of SSDI & that SSA was taking ALL of my Title II each month. I was to get ONLY $20 DUE TO SSI ALLOWANCE RULES! This worker told me that SSA HAD THE RESPONSIBILITY TO MAKE SURE I WAS ELIGIBLE FOR MEDICAID & I COULD NOT REFUSE! I am supposed to get my medicare in 4 months or so I was told. There is a rule that SSA can take any overpayment without consent of beneficiary-even as in my case this overpayment never existed prior to 12-31-07 due to a worker miscounting my work crdits--I was told if she counted correctly no overpayment would have existed--so I wouldn't get a backpayment therefore I do not deserve & can't claim my backpayment even if I could/would use it to do a different type of work. The worker who heard my waiver told me the 2cnd worker misinterpretated the rules-some workers do that; but, I still can't have my backpay that I was told I was owed by SSA on 12-31-07.
blj12313@yahoo.com
Post a Comment