Appeal was fax’d to AC [Appeals Council] on 5/17/11, I followed up on 6/8/11 and there was no record of it. I followed up again yesterday and was told it was still not input. I said I will fax again and she said I should not fax again because it is taking 7 – 8 months to input. Really
Jul 14, 2011
Staffing Problem At Appeals Council
Here is an e-mail I received today from an employee at my law firm:
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I have had that problem with at least 3 requests for review that I have filed within the last six months. In one case, a cessation case in which the claimant continues to receive benefits, the claimant's continuing Medicaid coverage was put at jeopardy because there was no quick way to prove to the state that the appeal had been filed - the state was relying on the local SSA office, which was relying upon the AC, which was saying that there was "nothing in the system". This was 6 months after filing. I told a young attorney in our firm that it seems necessary now to file the RR, and tickle for every two to three months to follow up, being ready to re-file when they say there's nothing there.
Apperently OAO office of appellate ops has been 25% understaffed since the end of last year. Only recently within the last month have they become fully staffed and are now in the process of training thier new hires. This drastically reduced the output and quality of work at both the appeals council level and the district court level. It has been a nightmare.
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