The National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD) has given Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, their Public Health Leadership Award. The award was presented at the 2009 NORD Gala at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. The NORD Gala is an annual event at which researchers and others are honored for significant achievements to improve the lives of people with rare diseases.
In recognizing Commissioner Astrue, NORD noted “his focus on reducing the disability backlog and improving service to the public.” A key component of the Commissioner’s backlog reduction plan is the agency’s Compassionate Allowances initiative, a way to expedite the processing of disability claims for applicants whose medical conditions are so severe that their conditions obviously meet Social Security’s standards. Social Security worked closely with NORD in developing the expedited decision process which was launched in October 2008 with a total of 50 conditions -- 25 rare diseases and 25 cancers.
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May 16, 2009
What Do You Think?
From a Social Security press release:
I can think of no other way to characterize this than utter baloney. The real backlogs are not going down, and service to the public declines more every single day. What is this organization, and what credibility can they possibly have?
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ReplyDeleteI suppose they do actually exist, but this is the first I have heard of them in the SSA context (or any other context, for that matter) and they clearly have no clue about SSA and/or the disability program and how it is operated.
Hmm. Just curious about what disorders that might be and what they have to do with DIB adjudication. You know, a good diagnosis for some rare genetic neurological disorder is pretty dispositive. But it doesn't address other issues such as age, education and so forth. So, I'm not seeing how the COSS could have such significance in this matter as to receive an award. Whatever else we can say about this COSS, his PR people certainly work overtime to get him print and meeting time in various advocacy groups.
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