From a recent report by Social Security's Office of Inspector General (OIG):
While the total number of visitors to all SSA [Social Security Administration] field offices steadily increased between Fiscal Years (FY) 2006 and 2010, the number of visitors began declining in FY 2011 and declined each year through FY 2015. The annual number of visitors to all SSA field offices decreased from 45.4 million in FY 2010 to 40.7 million in FY 2015.
Even as the number of visitors to SSA field offices has declined each year since FY 2010, customer wait times have increased in all 10 SSA regions. For all regions, the average wait time increased from 19 minutes in FY 2010 to 26 minutes in FY 2015.
The number of visitors to SSA field offices who waited longer than 1 hour for service significantly increased from FY s 2010 to 2015. In fact, for all regions, the number of field office visitors who waited longer than 1 hour for service increased from 2.3 million in FY 2010 to 4.5 million in FY 2015. Further, more than 11 percent of all visitors to SSA field offices waited longer than 1 hour for service in FY 2015. In contrast, only about 5 percent of visitors waited longer than 1 hour in FY 2010
6 comments:
So in 2010, on average each field office worker handled 1559 visits and in 2015 on average each field office worker handled 1471 visits. But the wait time increased. The big question is why? Were the field staff handling more phone calls? More work submitted online? Or, are they lazy government employees who should be replaced by private contractors who can handle the work more efficiently? The agency is going to have to explain why with less visits per office worker the wait time increased before Congress does anything... (No disrespect for the SSA workers here, I am AGAINST private contractors handling government work, just pointing out that the figures by themselves are useless).
You can't just turn this over to private contractors. The Claims Representative job requires knowing many complex issues, both what the law says and how to deal with the antiquated computer systems. It takes years to learn the Claims Representative job, with ongoing training. The issues that need to be handled by SSA are not simple -- the folks who have to visit the SSA offices have the out-of-the ordinary issues which computers cannot handle. And, if SSA employees input the wrong thing into their computers, the old adage "Garbage in/Garbage out" applies.
In the last 6 months or so, I have seen multiple mix-ups in my clients' social security cases, resulting in not receiving their social security checks, Medicare not being input correctly, SSI offset imposes in a non-SSI case, etc. After a hearing, it may take 6 months to get everything straightened out (if we are luck).
As a former Claims Representative, Operations Supervisor, and now an attorney in private practice with many social security clients, the answer is more SSA funding for additional staff (and training) to replace those retiring.
If SSA is ever turned over to a private contractor, there will be nothing left within 2 years. Private contractors are only there to make a profit for the head honcho, won't provide the great amount of training needed, and will pay the least amount possible to employees who actually do the work. Think TSA -- how has that worked out?
@12:52 I agree, as I said I am AGAINST privatizing but unless SSA explains why there is a longer wait time with less visits per field office employee, these figures gives fuel to a Republican Congress and a president who is all about privatization and making money for corporations to argue that private sector can do it better or to argue that there is no need for more employees because there are less files these employees are handling and they need to just "work smarter."
Agree with @12:52 PM. Online services have steadily grown in popularity, so people aren't coming in nearly as often with address changes and benefit verifications- interviews that take all of 2 minutes. That is skewing the numbers. The loss of so many veteran employees certainly doesn't help, but I doubt that is nearly as significant in terms of these numbers.
Without any other data, my analysis is that these 2010 and 2015 visits are not equivalent. Fewer people are coming in but what they need simply takes longer. Plus were we closing offices in 2010 on Wednesday's early? Were there other such factors and were they taken into account? Seems logical that the online systems have eliminated/reduced the number of easy contacts leaving more of the time consuming variety. So, it's not people being lazy, it's the fact the people coming in can't do business online and have issues that consume more time in each contact.
When has the GOP ever owned anything?
Post a Comment