From WKRN in Nashville, TN:
During a question and answer session with Barack Obama Wednesday a Tennessee man asked the president if there was anything he could do to help him after his social security had been denied several times.
After telling President Obama that Davy Crockett was in fact his real name, the Tennessee resident whose social security has been denied four times asked, “Is there anything you can do to push it through, or something?”
The president responded by promising he would help get the answers to his question. See pictures from President Obama’s visit here.
“I don’t run the Social Security Office, but if I ask a question, I tend to get an answer pretty quick,” President Obama said. “So what we’re going to do is we’re going to get your information Davey and I’ll make sure the Social Security Administration takes a look at it and expedites it.”
I've seen "Congressional Inquiry" flags on claim files before but never a "Presidential Inquiry" flag. SSA is probably going to have to go thru OMB to get one approved before they take any action on the matter. This will certainly take at least seven bureaucrats the better part of 6 months to a year to accomplish.
ReplyDeleteSelf advocacy! Example to all, you have to stand up for yourself.
ReplyDeleteThere are so many things wrong here
ReplyDeleteI BET THE AGENCY HAS PULLED THE CLAIM AND EITHER ALLOWED IT OR PREPARED A RESPONSE.
ReplyDeleteALSO DOUBT ANTHING FORMAL WILL TRANSPIRE. OBAMAS FOLKS WILL CALL SSA'S FOLKS. I REMEMBER ONCE, MANY MANY YEARS AGO AS AN EXAMINER. I HAD A CLAIM AND THE CLAIMANTS MOTHER WAS A FORCE OF NATURE. AFTER ONE CALL WIH ME SHE SAID SHE WOULD TAKE CARE OF THE SITUATION.
THE GOVENOR CALLED SOMEONE AT THE DDS AND I WAS INSTRUCTED TO TAKE THE CASE TO A STATE AGENCY DOC WHO TOLD ME WITH A WINK AND NOD, THIS IS WHAT WE DO SOMETIMES. IT WAS ALLOWED.
Caps lock is cruise control for awesome.
ReplyDeleteMaybe the president should work for SSA. He could approve all the claims and everyone could live happily ever after!
ReplyDeleteWatch out Charles, Obama may become a denied SSA/SSI claims advocate when he is out of office and put all attorneys out of business!
ReplyDeleteSo all it takes is access to the President to get pushed ahead of everyone else. There is nothing here that indicates his claim is taking longer than average or that he is even severely disabled.
ReplyDeleteBut it makes a nice sound bite. Too bad the President isn't up for re-election; that would be a way to get more votes. Sell SSDI awards.
Yep @ 912 p.m. Now, let's see...which POMS provides for Presidential expedition of claims? Oh yes, politics! Wow - no need for dire need to have your claim expedited anymore. Just show uo at a town hall meeting. How about just leaving off the expedite part next time and just say that we'll make an inquiry.
ReplyDeleteI am seriously thinking of showing up at a town hall meeting as asking the President to show some serious leadership in this area and stand up to those who want to kill Social Security. Maybe that will get something done. And how about doing something to address the growing ODAR backlog.
Ah, nothing like a little venting.
The POTUS staff will send an inquiry and be told by SSA that, as the staff does not have a written authorization from the claimant to discuss his case they are unable to respond to the inquiry.
ReplyDeleteI agree that this is all politics and that Obama's answer could have been better. But the guy said he was denied 4 times and asked Obama if he could "push it through," which I would say means get the denials reversed. The first thing Obama is quoted as saying is "I don't run the Social Security Office," which means to me that he's not going to tell SSA what to do. All he promises is to have SSA look at it. He does say expedite, which is a problem if the guy was complaining that the process was taking too long (and so Obama was promising to move him to the head of the line), but the guy's complaint seems to be about denials. So expedite could just go mean "get an answer pretty quick" as Obama says before - an explanation of why he was denied, which he probably already has, and not was he was asking for.
ReplyDeleteProbably like the dire need I saw a few weeks ago that came with a Congressional Inquiry - claimant has no income but spouse makes $70,000 per year. De-nied
ReplyDelete@8:20 am 7/3/15 - good comments and what you say makes sense. The real issue is that we need a president who will stand up for Social Security. If I am wrong about this and you (anyone) believe that President Obama has done a good job in standing up for Social Security, then let me know. I can't be on top of all of the news.
ReplyDeleteOn another front, what are you all hearing about all the ODAR backlogs? SSA devoted a lot of resources to reducing the hearing backlogs a few years back and now it is just climbing right back up. Last year, the attorney advisor decisions were way down as compared to prior years. I understand that ODAR is pushing pre-hearing conferences with ALJs? Is that your understanding, too? Not that many hearings are being scheduled. We are getting some favorable decisions at the initial and reconsideration levels, though, which is nice. We are doing our best to work with the adjudicators to develop those files and maximize our clients' chances of having their claims approved.
One final note - for those who believe that the Social Security disability system is ripe with fraud and people are just trying to scan the system, you're wrong! As an attorney who represents individuals in these claims, that is not my perception at all!
Sorry, folks, that was supposed to be "scam the system," not "scan" the system.
ReplyDelete5:41 PM, about the backlog, ODAR is in the process of hiring 500 new ALJ's in 2015 and 2016. That should help somewhat. ODAR is having technology issues, which may slow down the processing of claims at ODAR.
ReplyDelete