Newspaper Finds Backlog Decreases By 0.39% In Columbus, OH In Last Year -- And SSA Responds

From the Columbus Dispatch:

The Social Security Administration says it is making progress toward easing a crushing backlog of disability claims.

But disability attorneys in Columbus, with one of the worst backlogs in the country, say long waits still are the rule. Major improvements have been slow in coming since complaints were aired [in the Columbus Dispatch].

"If there's any improvement at all, it is very, very minimal," said Eileen Goodin, a Social Security disability attorney in Columbus who says her clients are waiting an average of 25 to 28 months for a hearing.

As of Oct. 30, 10,532 cases were pending in the Columbus office, said a spokeswoman for the agency in Washington, D.C. That's 41 fewer than exactly one year earlier.

And Social Security's response to this? Apparently, the agency put out a press release in Ohio touting "Quick Disability Determinations." It is a shame that Quick Disability Determinations is nothing more than a new name for something that has been around for decades, but that word "quick" sure impresses the uninitiated.