For months our local field office has routed all calls to the 1800 number. This is in a large city. Some results. Awards sent to mailbox in high crime area, no rep payee interviews, non-acknowledgement of appeals and applications, multiple errors in SSI applications with repeated errors in corrected filing dates, payments sent to beneficiary instead of rep payee, and of course (for those who believe this job is a cakewalk) no 1695 acknowledgement at initial filing or payment after award. The 1 800 staff apparently can patch a call to the FO via email or some notice, but really they are not CRs. Imagine what an unrepresented caller encounters. Combine this with enough ALJ outliers who ignore the law and an Appeals Council now taking closer to 18 months to send unexplained denials that probably required 15 minute reviews. The Agency has reached a level of dysfunction that gains momentum daily. The lack of funding empowers SSA to adapt a bunker mentality. The claimant is no longer the priority. There is enough blame to go around. But if the public really wanted to change the way SSA is treated by congress and the president and the way SSA has reacted; we could. If one in five Americans interact with SSA, it is an issue. Still I have not heard one mention of SSA disability in any significant presidential debate or campaign speech. Most articles in the press concerning disability tend towards criticizing applicants and disproportionate allegations of “fraud and abuse.” Things won’t change unless knowledgeable individuals like many of this blog’s readers, start demanding it from their elected officials. And that includes outing the republicans who have feasted off SSA’s dysfunction for their own political gain. If that is a long shot it is at least an attempt to rectify this carnage.
All of this I believe is to show that any government agency like SSA is incompetent to privatize it all which would save employers from having to really pay out much of anything. To be done so deliberately should be a crime committed by congress that further disenfranchises people who are disabled.
All that goes on in the SSA are the same type of problems is to what goes on in the CA Workers compensation system and no where to go to correct any of the problems and is at worst as it can be where injured workers are getting abused and without any real medical care or financial help, ending up on the streets.. There might as well not be a worker compensation agency. It's all built on saving employers money. There are two states trying to opt out of paying workers compensation. It needs federal takeover now but scary to think what congress would do even more harm but oh yes, they already ha their cold fingers in it for over 40 years with doing nothing for those hurt on the job. How many disabled and sick people have to be on the streets or poor before someone in our country's congress(congress, senate, president) decides that we as American citizens who have paid the country's bills as well as the congresses salary and retirement deserve to be treated like human beings with dignity & respect. Injured workers who were forced to go on SSA/SSI also have to pay for Medicare. So it was a big win for Medicare and now it is not? Another reason to privatize the last two employee paid public funded programs.
For months our local field office has routed all calls to the 1800 number. This is in a large city. Some results. Awards sent to mailbox in high crime area, no rep payee interviews, non-acknowledgement of appeals and applications, multiple errors in SSI applications with repeated errors in corrected filing dates, payments sent to beneficiary instead of rep payee, and of course (for those who believe this job is a cakewalk) no 1695 acknowledgement at initial filing or payment after award. The 1 800 staff apparently can patch a call to the FO via email or some notice, but really they are not CRs. Imagine what an unrepresented caller encounters.
ReplyDeleteCombine this with enough ALJ outliers who ignore the law and an Appeals Council now taking closer to 18 months to send unexplained denials that probably required 15 minute reviews. The Agency has reached a level of dysfunction that gains momentum daily. The lack of funding empowers SSA to adapt a bunker mentality. The claimant is no longer the priority. There is enough blame to go around. But if the public really wanted to change the way SSA is treated by congress and the president and the way SSA has reacted; we could. If one in five Americans interact with SSA, it is an issue. Still I have not heard one mention of SSA disability in any significant presidential debate or campaign speech. Most articles in the press concerning disability tend towards criticizing applicants and disproportionate allegations of “fraud and abuse.” Things won’t change unless knowledgeable individuals like many of this blog’s readers, start demanding it from their elected officials. And that includes outing the republicans who have feasted off SSA’s dysfunction for their own political gain. If that is a long shot it is at least an attempt to rectify this carnage.
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ReplyDeleteThe 2017 Cost of Living Adjustments are coming in
ReplyDeleteAll of this I believe is to show that any government agency like SSA is incompetent to privatize it all which would save employers from having to really pay out much of anything. To be done so deliberately should be a crime committed by congress that further disenfranchises people who are disabled.
ReplyDeleteAll that goes on in the SSA are the same type of problems is to what goes on in the CA Workers compensation system and no where to go to correct any of the problems and is at worst as it can be where injured workers are getting abused and without any real medical care or financial help, ending up on the streets.. There might as well not be a worker compensation agency. It's all built on saving employers money. There are two states trying to opt out of paying workers compensation. It needs federal takeover now but scary to think what congress would do even more harm but oh yes, they already ha their cold fingers in it for over 40 years with doing nothing for those hurt on the job. How many disabled and sick people have to be on the streets or poor before someone in our country's congress(congress, senate, president) decides that we as American citizens who have paid the country's bills as well as the congresses salary and retirement deserve to be treated like human beings with dignity & respect.
Injured workers who were forced to go on SSA/SSI also have to pay for Medicare. So it was a big win for Medicare and now it is not? Another reason to privatize the last two employee paid public funded programs.