The National Association of Disability Examiners (NADE), an organization of the personnel who make initial and reconsideration determinations on disability claims for Social Security, has issued its Summer 2010 newsletter. A brief excerpt from one article:
NADE continues to advocate for a significant reduction in the 15 year vocationally relevant period and we were greeted with wide enthusiasm for this proposal by advocacy groups and Congress. With SSA finally voicing limited support, NADE is hopeful positive action may occur on this issue.One odd note to the newsletter is a photo of NADE members participating in a "mud volleyball tournament." That's something you don't see everyday!
I found two very interesting things on the first page of this newsletter: "The
ReplyDeleteNADE leadership found strong support on the Hill for switching Step 4 and Step 5 of Sequential Evaluation and also found strong support for the elimination of the use of the medical release form
(SSA-827) in processing disability applications..."
I wonder if anyone knows what they mean by switching Step4 and Step 5. Having decided disability claims for 28 years I can not imagine how you can possibly decide Step 5 before Step 4. I could understand someone arguing for an elimination of Step 4, but certainly not for reversing the two.
And as to eliminating the medical release form, all of you practioners out there know that no physician and no hospital will release records without a signed authorization from the patient because HIPAA precludes them from doing so (even thouge SSA is not covered by HIPAA). I have talked to attorneys for facilities who insist on medical releases from the patient even for an ALJ subpoena even though HIPAA specifically states none is required. I can envision huge delays in getting medical records because providers will refuse to comply with requests unless they are accompanied by medical releases. The NADA means well, but not being attorneys they can easily cause more harm than help with proposals such as these.
One would hope that all the employee associations at SSA & the state agencies could get together and agree on a unified program for substantive statutory & regulatory change so that they are not working against each other. All have the same ultimate goal - a quicker correct decision at the earliest stage of the process.
Hon. Joyce Krutick Craig
U.S. Administrative Law Judge (Ret.)