From Government Executive:
By the way, I'm still not buying that the increase in claims filed has that much to do with the recession. My understanding is that the huge increase in claims filed did not start until after the inauguration of Barack Obama. I think this has far more to do with public perceptions about the adjudicative climate at Social Security.
According to [Social Security Commissioner Michael] Astrue and other experts on disability claims, the faltering economy is causing an increase in applications of between 15 percent and 25 percent. SSA originally anticipated receiving 2.6 million to 2.65 million applications for disability benefits in fiscal 2009, but upped its prediction to 3 million and another 3 million for 2010. Recently, the agency adjusted its estimates again, increasing the projection for 2010 to 3.3 million applications. ...
Astrue says the agency has been making inroads, reducing processing times by 4 percent each of the past two years. The recession, however, has reversed the progress on the backlog of cases. At the beginning of 2009, SSA had 550,000 cases pending at the state level. The state-run SSA-funded Disability Determination Services do much of the initial processing and eligibility determination for applicants. The number of claims pending at the state level, which does not account for applications at other stages of adjudication, is now up to 725,000. ...
"We've been stymied at the state level," Astrue says. "There's this callous 'Kumbaya' attitude that if there's going to be pain, everyone has to suffer. For me, it's beyond comprehension that you would make a civil service suffer unnecessarily and make claimants in desperate need of assistance wait much longer than they otherwise would." ...
Astrue says having that budget in place by the start of the fiscal year would be a tremendous benefit to the agency."There's a possibility - I don't even know the last time this happened - that we could have an appropriation by the start of the fiscal year," he says. "For planning purposes, being able to plan for the full fiscal year is enormous; we should be able to deliver much more use to the public."
I might not have used the word "kumbaya" in discussing the matter but I too find the state government furloughs of Disability Determination employees beyond comprehension.
By the way, I'm still not buying that the increase in claims filed has that much to do with the recession. My understanding is that the huge increase in claims filed did not start until after the inauguration of Barack Obama. I think this has far more to do with public perceptions about the adjudicative climate at Social Security.
MY mother was laid off in 2008 due to the economy tanking as her employer laid off hundreds of thier staff, which in turn prompted my mother to file for DIB. If she was still working she would be over sga and wouldnt be getting the benefits. many dib filers ive had recently have filed after losing thier jobs and believe they are "too old" to get a new job and thus are finally filing for DIB.
ReplyDeleteIt's the economy...putting on the election is wishful thinking at best.
ReplyDeleteMany people aren't going to apply for disability until they have to, that have to point is when unemployment benefits run out and they see another job isn't going to happen.
At first I agreed with you about the use of Kumbaya attitude, and maybe Astrue shouldn't use it that way.
ReplyDeleteAnd then I realized, I'm in a different political camp than he is and yeah that's exactly what they are using to rationalize pulling the plug on responsibly addressing the issues
I actually work in a DDS, and I'm seeing a greater percentage of initial claims where the reason that the claimants are giving for why their work ended is "I was laid off." People with disabilities, especially "invisible" ones, do seem to get targeted in staff cuts when their performance was struggling to begin with.
ReplyDeleteI suspect a lot of these are going to get denied, especially by anyone who assumes "layoff = capable of demands of past work", which could start increasing the ODAR backlog dramatically come 2010 if these claimants appeal.
"My understanding is that the huge increase in claims filed did not start until after the inauguration of Barack Obama. I think this has far more to do with public perceptions about the adjudicative climate at Social Security."
ReplyDeleteHuh???????? I was following this article just fine until the last 2 sentences. I even re-read it several times. It was not very clear, what was your point??? Furthermore, if your were wading in on politics, where were you during the Bush years?
Charles, the first comment above is directly on point--and precisely what SSA experiences in every downturn in the economy. "Adjudicative climate" just doesn't come into play to any significant degree. Losing one's sometimes feeble hold on a job and finding zero alternatives does.
ReplyDeleteWhy do we still have state level DDS anyway? Now would be a good time to move that function to the federal government and save states the hassel.
ReplyDeleteWe saw the same surge of DIB claims in the early years of the Reagan administration, the end of the Bush I administration, and the tail end of the Bush II administration. Marginal people can stay employed, often because their part-time or minimum wage jobs are jobs with no security. When employers feel the pinch, these people are the first to go. Those who are in their late 40's or middle 50's have a snowball's chance of ever getting another job.
ReplyDeleteAt least that was my experience in Calfornia, where recessions are always worse than the rest of the country, for reasons I could never fathom. This Calfornia recession is the worst yet--and that is saying something in a boom or bust economy like CA's. This time county general assistance has dried up, the state can't keep up with unemployment claims, and even public libraries are closing for lack of money to pay for utilities. Yep, the disallowance rate and hearings rates will soar. And Astrue's projected backlog resolutions will go the way of the Dodo.
If you are paring staff, the first people you want rid of and won't call back from a layoff are going to be older workers, those who have filed a workers comp claim, and those who have a health problem (back, obesity, diabetes) who are less productive and costing you money.
ReplyDeleteThat group will also include a lot of people who really just forced themself to work because they needed the income and the insurance or were holding out until they could get their retirement.
Working in an SSA field office, my experience has also been that many disabled people have lost their jobs and are now looking to SSA for support. In normal times there are a surprising number of disabled people who could get disability but are working instead. Now they are applying because of reduced hours or lay offs.
ReplyDelete