Legislation Introduced On Field Office Closures

     From a press release:

In the wake of this year’s closure of the Mitchell Street SSA field office in Milwaukee, Congresswoman Gwen Moore (WI-04) introduced H.R. 7146, the Maintain Access to Vital Social Security Services Act of 2018, which would require the Social Security Administration (SSA) to operate a sufficient number of fully staffed field offices, as well as set up a review process for their closure.

     With Democrats in control of the House of Representatives this sort of bill could get a serious hearing. There will probably be quite a number of House Social Security Subcommittee hearings next year and they'll be very different from what we've seen over the last eight years. Sure, there have been hearings on office closures with the GOP in charge but, come on, we knew ,and Social Security knew, they weren't serious. It will be different with Democrats in charge. Yes, the Republican controlled Senate can block passage of stand alone legislation on field offices but something like this could easily get put in some must pass legislation such as an appropriations bill with enough money behind it to make it practical. Remember, there will be a lot of GOP Senators from purple states up for re-election in 2020.

Former Social Security OGC Attorney's Nomination To MSPB In Trouble

     From Government Executive:

The [Merit Systems Protection Board, MSPB] that determines federal employees’ challenges to adverse actions will likely to continue to be rendered impotent into next year, as the Senate appears unlikely to approve a slate of nominees to the panel before the legislative session ends.

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee scheduled a vote on Wednesday for three individuals President Trump nominated to sit on the Merit Systems Protection Board, but ultimately the committee failed to advance the nominations. The senators present were deadlocked on the nomination of Andrew Maunz, the most controversial of the nominees, with Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., voting no by proxy. ...

Trump nominated Maunz to MSPB after he served as an attorney in the Social Security Administration’s general counsel office. His nomination troubled Democrats and some board observers, in part because his office was once found by a federal court to be “dysfunctional and under the management of supervisors whose management skills and performance were deficient in many respects, including unfavorable treatment of older women working in the office, compared with younger women and male attorneys." Maunz, representing SSA’s general counsel office in the case, launched a “vigorous attack” on an employee seeking redress for violations of the Civil Rights Act, according to the judge. The court ultimately ruled in the employee’s favor. ...

     There's no way to discipline Administrative Law Judges without a functioning MSPB.

Update: Since I first posted this, Government Executive has somewhat altered the article I quoted. See the link for the revised article.

Preview Of Oral Argument In Biestek v. Berryhill

     SCOTUSblog has an excellent preview of the December 4 oral argument before the Supreme Court in Biestek v. Berryhill, a case presenting the issue: 

Whether a vocational expert’s testimony can constitute substantial evidence of “other work,” 20 C.F.R. § 404.1520(a)(4)(v), available to an applicant for social security benefits on the basis of a disability, when the expert fails upon the applicant’s request to provide the underlying data on which that testimony is premised.

     How will things be different if Biestek prevails? I don't know if the Social Security Administration or its vocational experts (VEs) are ready for the day after such a Supreme Court opinion. If VEs aren't able to provide the underlying data, and they won't, can a federal court affirm a Social Security decision denying the claimant on the basis of that VE testimony? How does Social Security respond to such a situation? Social Security has been delaying and delaying its new vocational information system. How does that fit into this?

The Grand Compromise Fantasy Never Goes Away

     Some excerpts from a piece by Paula Span in the Health Section of the New York Times:

We’ve long heard warnings that the Social Security program that 52 million Americans rely on for their retirement benefits could one day run out of money.

Analysts say that’s not going to happen — if only because older people are such a powerful voting force — but this year the system has hit a worrisome milestone: the Social Security Administration reported that the retirement benefits paid out each month exceeded the tax revenues and interest that fund the program. ...

Making adjustments to keep Social Security solvent, crucial as that is, represents only one of the issues confronting Congress. It could also correct outdated aspects of a program that serves nearly 90 percent of Americans over 65. ...

The fixes will likely include changes designed to bring more money in and pay less out. Imposing a higher payroll tax or raising the level of earnings subject to Social Security taxes (as of January 1, they will apply to the first $132,900, already an increase) would bolster revenues.

Money-saving measures could include reducing benefits for high earners and trimming the number of years that workers collect benefits by raising eligibility ages. ...

Working longer and claiming benefits later — trends already well underway — pay off in ways that extend beyond Social Security itself. “It’s good for people, it’s good for government tax revenues and it could fuel economic growth,” Dr. Johnson [of the Urban Institute] said.

But as his report points out, living longer doesn’t always mean people can work longer. Higher-income professionals may opt to stay on the job, he said, but “health problems are increasingly concentrated among less educated workers and they’re falling further and further behind” economically. Moreover, even those who could work often discover that “employers don’t seem eager to hire 62 year olds.”

By their early sixties, his analysis of national survey data found, a quarter of high school graduates and 37 percent of those without a high school diploma report work limitations related to their health. Many say their jobs require substantial physical effort. ...

While some think tanks and congressional staffs are exploring ways to strengthen Social Security financially, others are looking into outmoded provisions that penalize beneficiaries, primarily women.

Senator Bob Casey, Democrat of Pennsylvania, has introduced legislation intended to help widows, widowers and divorced spouses qualify for higher payments and receive benefits earlier if they’re disabled. ...

Speaking of women and Social Security, another effort would award work credit for those who temporarily leave the labor force because of caregiving responsibilities. ...

     Let me make it clear. I oppose raising full retirement age or any other cut in Social Security. Raising full retirement age would have a devastating effect on working men and women who often can't make it to the current full retirement age which never should have been raised from 65. I have zero trust in any scheme dreamed up to alleviate this problem. Not only can this country easily afford the Social Security benefits currently available but this country can easily afford enhancements to those benefits. The cap on the payroll tax can be raised. Other tax revenues, such as an enhanced estate tax, can be devoted to Social Security. Solving the financing problem is easy if you really want to. If Democrats control Congress and the White House after the 2020 election it's a fantasy to think that they're going to push for some great compromise that cuts Social Security benefits. The Obama Administration's efforts to compromise with Republicans on health care are a vivid memory. GOP Senators stalled and drug out negotiations in bad faith. They never had any intention of voting for health care reform. No Democratic president will make that mistake again any time soon. Social Security reform will have to be accomplished solely with Democratic votes and on Democratic terms.

Nobody Is Even Talking About "World Class Service" Any More

     From the New York Times:

... Social Security has closed 67 field offices since fiscal 2010 in rural and urban areas alike. For the public, the cuts have meant less access to field offices, and ballooning wait times in the remaining 1,229 offices and on the agency’s toll-free line. It also has meant long delays in hearings on disability insurance appeals and in resolving benefit errors. ...

From 2010 to 2018, Congress reduced the agency’s operating budget 9 percent in inflation-adjusted terms; at the same time, the number of beneficiaries rose 17 percent, according to agency data. ...

In March, Congress made a down payment on reversing years of cuts. Lawmakers ignored the Trump administration’s request for a small increase in fiscal 2018, instead raising the agency’s administrative budget by $480 million, or 4.6 percent. And in September, Congress overrode the administration again, approving a $40 million increase in Social Security’s operating budget for 2019 [which isn't enough to cover the agency's increased expenses due to inflation], rather than the cut of over $400 million proposed by the White House. For fiscal 2019, the agency’s operating budget is $11.1 billion. ...

The average wait time to see a claims agent in field offices was 26.5 minutes in fiscal 2018 — 37 percent higher than in 2010, according to the National Council of Social Security Management Associations, an organization composed of field office and telecommunications service center managers.

And the wait times can be much longer.

“People line up early at Social Security offices around the country,” said Christopher Detzler, who manages a field office in Vancouver, Wash., and is the council’s immediate past president. “Sometimes the lines wrap around the building, even for offices with more reasonable wait times.”

Contacting Social Security through its toll-free number can be difficult, and 15 percent of callers heard a busy signal when calling during fiscal 2018, according to the council.  ...

“Hot Women And A Respectable Life”

     I had missed this one. From the Lexington Herald-Leader:

Hot women and a respectable life. 

That was the prospect disgraced disability attorney Eric C. Conn dangled in front of a former employee as he urged the man to join Conn’s flight to Central America to avoid prison. 

The former employee, Curtis Lee Wyatt, was facing charges for helping Conn escape when Conn sent him an email last October, according to documents filed this week in federal court. 

Conn said he was saddened by the charges against Wyatt and tried to persuade him to sneak away and meet Conn. 

“Here you will have a respectable life and live well,” Conn told Wyatt. “Further, the women here are hot, hot.”

More Same Sex Marriage Litigation

     From YubaNet.com:

Lambda Legal today filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) on behalf of a 65-year-old gay man seeking spousal survivor’s benefits based on his 43-year relationship with his husband, who died seven months after Arizona began allowing same-sex couples to marry. The lawsuit filed on behalf of Michael Ely in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona argues that SSA’s imposition of a nine-month marriage requirement for social security survivor’s benefits is unconstitutional where same-sex couples were not able to be married for nine months because of discriminatory marriage laws.

They Don't Give Up; Neither Can We

     It won't surprise anyone familiar with the publication but the National Review has posted a piece calling for Social Security disability "reform." The "reform" they have in mind is ending Social Security disability and letting the states handle disability benefits, if they choose. You know the same people arguing for letting the states handle it would then argue that the states shouldn't handle it.

     Don't worry. This wouldn't have happened even with Republicans in control of Congress and it's definitely not happening with Democrats gaining control of the House of Representatives in a few weeks but the right wing doesn't give up. They keep coming back with the same bad, hugely unpopular ideas.

Expect To Hear More About This Once The New Congress Convenes

     From the New York Times:

.. The average wait time to see a claims agent in [Social Security] field offices was 26.5 minutes in fiscal 2018 — 37 percent higher than in 2010, according to the National Council of Social Security Management Associations, an organization composed of field office and telecommunications service center managers. 

And the wait times can be much longer. 

“People line up early at Social Security offices around the country,” said Christopher Detzler, who manages a field office in Vancouver, Wash., and is the council’s immediate past president. “Sometimes the lines wrap around the building, even for offices with more reasonable wait times.” 

Contacting Social Security through its toll-free number can be difficult, and 15 percent of callers heard a busy signal when calling during fiscal 2018, according to the council. (Appointments for phone conversations or in-person visits can be scheduled in advance by calling the toll-free number or a local field office.) 

Most of the workers who have departed were among Social Security’s longest-serving employees. All 3,400 field office staff reductions since 2010 have come through attrition, Mr. Hinkle [a Social Security spokesperson] said. 

“It’s not just lost head count, but lost institutional knowledge,” says Nancy Altman, president of Social Security Works, an advocacy group, and a member of the Social Security Advisory Board, a bipartisan, independent federal agency that advises the government on Social Security policy and its administration. ... 

Social Security serves one million more beneficiaries each year. If its budget had kept pace with the Consumer Price Index since fiscal 2010, it would be $1.3 billion higher in fiscal 2019 than the $11.1 billion that has just been allocated, Ms. Romig [of the Center on Budget and Policy Prioritied] said. And that is a conservative figure, because costs for big items, like office rent and health care, tend to rise more quickly than the C.P.I. [Consumer Price Index]...

Have A Great Thanksgiving Feast!

Happy Thanksgiving

Good News For Eric Conn's Former Clients

     There as finally been a decision in the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in a case concerning the serious legal and constitutional issues presented by Social Security's reviews of prior decisions made in cases where Eric Conn had represented the claimant. This requires study but it appears to be good news for these claimants.

     The 6th Circuit is, by a wide measure, the most conservative of the Courts of Appeals. If Social Security can't win there, they can't win. However, I would expect that the agency will ask that the case be reheard en banc, that is by all members of the Court, rather than by a three member panel as is usually the case.

I Haven't Heard Of This One Before

     From the News Virginian:

A man wearing a suit and silver badge recently went to a Staunton residence and said he is an investigator for the Social Security Administration, according to the Staunton Police Department.

Police said the man was described as a black male who spoke with a heavy foreign accent.

The scam the man was perpetrating involves him displaying the badge and claiming there is fraud activity in the targeted person's account. The victim was then told police will respond if the Social Security employee is not given money. The man left the area after the victim declined to speak further.

National Disability Forum

     An announcement from Social Security:

Social Security’s National Disability Forum, Enhancing the Reconsideration Process
Wednesday, November 28, from 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. EST
1100 New York Avenue NW, Suite 200 East, Washington, DC 20005

You may also participate via live stream.

We are seeking feedback on improving the disability claims process - especially at the reconsideration step. Panelists Include:

• Moderator - Darlynda Bogle, Executive Secretary, Office of the Commissioner, Social Security Administration
• Phoebe Ball, Legislative Affairs Specialist, National Council on Disability · Cheryl Bates-Harris, Senior Disability Advocacy Specialist, National Disability Rights Network
• Dr. Sharon Bland-Brady, President, National Association of Disability Examiners
• Lisa Ekman, Director of Government Affairs, National Organization of Social Security Claimants’ Representatives
• Trudy Lyon-Hart, Policy/Quality Committee Chair and Board Member, National Council of Disability Determination Directors
• Christopher Mazzulli, Treasurer, National Association of Disability Representatives

Please register online by Monday, November 26, and note whether you will be attending in person or via live stream. Additional details will be provided to live stream participants prior to the event. We hope you can join us and look forward to your participation. To learn more about the National Disability Forum, please click http://www.socialsecurity.gov/ndf/ .

     I don't know that this announcement itself is on the interwebs. I found out about it from the National Organization of Social Security Claimants Representatives (NOSSCR).

Social Security Administrative Expenditures As Percentage Of Total Expenditures Have Declined Over The Years

      Source: Social Security Administration. Click on each page to view full size.

Are Electronic Medical Records A Good Thing? It’s Complicated

     If you spend a lot of time reading medical records, and I know that, like me, many of you do, read this New Yorker piece by Atul Gawande, Why Doctors Hate Their Computers.

Field Office Reopens After Car Crash

     The Social Security field office in Egg Harbor Township that was closed after a car crashed into it on Tuesday reopened on Friday.

Saul Nomination Advances

     Andrew Saul’s nomination to become Commissioner of Social Security was reported out favorably by the Senate Finance Committee. It was a unanimous vote.

Ticket To Work Not Working

     From the Washington Free Beacon:

The Social Security Administration has spent $3 billion on programs designed to incentivize disability recipients to go back to work over the past 16 years. So far, less than 3 percent of beneficiaries have signed up, with "no consistent evidence" the program has helped participants find a job. 

The inspector general for the agency released an audit last week calling for Congress to evaluate the "viability" of the programs 

including Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency (TTW) and Achieve Self-Support (PASS)."SSA has spent about $3 billion administering two ongoing congressionally mandated return-to-work programs and a time-limited demonstration project designed to determine whether a policy change would help beneficiaries return to work," the inspector general said. "However, these programs and demonstration project enticed a small percentage of disabled individuals to return to work." ...

Since it began in 2000, the TTW program has cost $2.8 billion and enrolled 1.2 million disabled welfare recipients, a participation rate of only 2.6 percent. Those beneficiaries have saved the government approximately $5.9 billion. For each beneficiary served, the government spent $2,300 through the program, as opposed to the average $5,000 benefits forgone. ...

      You might say that this shows that even though TTW is only minimally successful that it still more than pays for itself but the problem is that it is more than possible that the vast majority of those “helped” by TTW would have gone back to work on their own. To what extent are TTW providers helping people who wouldn’t otherwise get back to work and to what extend are TTW providers just profiting from people who don’t need their help? We just don’t know. Any advantage from TTW is, at best, unproven. The problem with all the efforts to get Social Security disability recipients back to work is that they are premised upon a deep seated belief that it’s easy to get on benefits. It’s not. It’s terribly difficult to get on disability benefits. As sick as people have to be to get on Social Security disability benefits, we shouldn’t expect many to go back to work.

Social Security Proposing Mandatory Video Hearings

     From a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) that the Social Security Administration will publish in the Federal Register tomorrow:

We propose to revise our rules to explain that the agency retains the right 

to determine how parties and witnesses will appear at a hearing before an administrative law judge (ALJ) at the hearing level of our administrative review process, and we will set the time and place for the hearing accordingly. ... 

We propose that parties to a hearing will not have the option to opt out of appearing by the manner of hearing we choose.  ...

     This is a proposal. The public can comment on it. Congress can’t prevent its adoption but can certainly weigh in on it. The new Democratic  majority in the House could make Andrew Saul pay a price for going ahead with it. Expect a House Social Security Subcommittee hearing on this issue next year.

Saul Nomination To Get Committee Vote Tomorrow

     The Senate Finance Committe has scheduled a vote on Andrew Saul’s nomination for Social Security Commissioner for tomorrow.

20 Injured At Social Security Field Office In Egg Harbor, N.J.

     From NBC:

Twenty people were injured, two of them seriously, Tuesday morning after a car crashed into a Social Security building in New Jersey, At least one person was critically injured and another in serious condition after a 1998 Nissan Sentra smashed into the lobby of the building in Egg Harbor Township about 9:50 a.m. ET, police said. 

At least one person was critically injured and another in serious condition after a 1998 Nissan Sentra smashed into the lobby of the building in Egg Harbor Township about 9:50 a.m. ET, police said.

Anybody Want To Guess What Happened Here?

     From the Des Moines Register:

One need only glance at Marla Del Carmen’s small, gnarled hands to begin to understand how rheumatoid arthritis has crippled her since 19.  

 The 62-year-old works some, but she relies heavily on Social Security disability to get by.  

 Or, she did.  

 This month, Del Carmen received an odd letter from the Social Security Administration informing her that her disability benefit would increase to $687 a month. But then the letter said those payments were being suspended because “you were not a United States citizen or lawfully present in the U.S.” 

That was news to Del Carmen. She was born in Des Moines with a Hebrew maiden name and has spent all her life on the east side. 

 

 She is married to a Hispanic man, Mateo Del Carmen Hernandez, a permanent resident of the United States, for more than 22 years.  ... 

 With immigration the chief focus of President Donald Trump’s administration, Del Carmen says she can’t help but feel targeted by the federal government. She said it appeared she was disqualified from federal benefits solely because of her married name.  

“I’ve never been to another country. I don’t even have a passport,” she said. “I have to take chemo for my arthritis and I have COPD, so I can’t travel.” Del Carmen said she checked with the Des Moines Social Security office, and no one had applied fraudulently for her benefits. ...

The Election Results: Effects On Proposed Regulations

     On October 29 the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approved the publication of proposed new regulations that would allow the Social Security Administration to force video hearings on claimants who don't want them. Normally, once OMB approves the publication of proposed regulations, Social Security publishes them in the Federal Register within a week or two. It hasn't been that long but this one hasn't yet been published.

     I wonder whether the Acting Commissioner of Social Security will sign off on publishing this proposal now. The incoming Democratic majority on the House Social Security Subcommittee is likely to be strongly opposed to this proposal. In my experience, the Social Security Administration has always been highly responsive to the House Social Security Subcommittee, far more responsive than to the White House or the Senate, neither of which is interested in getting down in the weeds of Social Security issues. Perhaps the Acting Commissioner would prefer to leave this hanging until there's a confirmed Commissioner to make the decision. We’ll see.

     For that matter, there's a proposal to remove inability to communicate in English as an education category in the grid regulations that's pending OMB review. Assuming OMB approves it, will Social Security ever publish it? More important, proposed changes to the musculoskeletal listings have already been published. The comments to that proposal may get much more serious consideration now.

Report On Culbertson v. Berryhill Oral Argument

     SCOTUSblog reports on this past week’s oral argument before the Supreme Court in Culbertson v. Berryhill, a case concerning the cap or caps on attorney fees for representing Social Security claimants in federal court.

Does This Story Add Up To You?

     A Cleveland television station reports on a Social Security overpayment case. Here's the scenario. Woman's mother dies. She says she informed Social Security of the death yet the direct deposit of her mother's Social Security benefits continued for ten years.  At one point she even opened a new bank account to continue receiving the money. She says that over the years she just never thought about the bank account and never took out any of the money. Now she's worrying about repaying all the money. 

     Does this story add up to you?

     By the way, the television station's take on the story was only to wonder how in the world Social Security kept paying benefits all that time.

Proposed Regulations On Consideration Of Pain

     The Social Security Administration has asked the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), which is part of the White House, to approve publication of proposed an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rule Making (ANPRM) on Consideration of Pain in the Adult Disability Determination Process. Here's the only explanation available of the proposal:

Our regulations set a two-step process for evaluating pain in disability claims, at which we identify the existence of medical evidence supporting pain and evaluate the intensity of the alleged pain respectively. With this ANPRM we seek to solicit public comment on these existing rules to determine whether they align with current medicine and health care research.

     This isn't even a proposal at this point. They'll only be seeking comments on what a proposal should be.

Transcript Of Culbertson v. Berryhill Oral Argument

     The Supreme Court has posted the transcript of the oral argument in Culbertson v. Berryhill, concerning attorney fees for federal court work. The argument was more spirited than I would have thought. I wouldn't predict the Court's decision in this case but I would predict that it won't be unanimous. 

     To my mind this is a straightforward plain language case. The statute says there's a separate cap on attorney fees for federal court. You can certainly make an argument that it shouldn't say that but that's what it says. If that's not what Congress intended, they can change the statute but it's not up to the Court to change it to something they think makes more sense. Judges or justices shouldn't use the plain language argument only when it suits their purposes and ignore it when they don't like the result. Plain language should always be the first consideration.

Hearings For Eric Conn's Former Clients Suspended Until January 7

     The Lexington Herald-Leader reports on Social Security's decision to suspend hearings for Eric Conn's former clients until January 7.

     I'd love to get a copy of whatever memo Social Security sent out to staff about this.

Hearings For Eric Conn's Former Clients Suspended For Two Months

     Ongoing hearings to cut off disability benefits for Eric Conn's former clients have been suspended until January 7, probably because of the problems in these claimants obtaining access to the files that Conn's office kept on them. No, I don't have a link. This just happened. Apparently, there was pressure from a local Republican Congressman. The news has come from his office. We have no word yet on cases which have already been heard but which are pending decision writing.

     I wouldn't predict that Democrats on the House Social Security Subcommittee, who will be in the majority come January, will go to bat for Conn's former clients but the pressure on Social Security to aggressively go after these claimants will abate. Perhaps we'll get some sanity. If you haven't been involved in these cases you may think these people are just getting what they deserve but once you get nearer ground level it becomes clear that whatever Conn may have done these claimants did nothing wrong and that most of them are sick and deserve the benefits they've been receiving. Social Security has gone to incredible lengths to try to prevent Conn's former clients from getting fair hearings.

Social Security Disability Claims, Awards And Number In Current Payment StatusFrom

Source: Office of Chief Actuary, Social Security Administration

Was A Claimant Required To Make A Lucia Objection Administratively In Order To Preserve The Issue For Federal Court?

     Since the Supreme Court's decision in Lucia v. SEC that Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) as they had been appointed to that time were unconstitutional there's been a big issue concerning the thousands of Social Security cases pending in the federal courts. It would seem that all should be remanded for new hearings except for one problem. Almost none of the claimants involved had raised the issue while the cases were pending at Social Security. In most administrative litigation an objection must be filed while the case is pending before the agency in order to preserve the issue for federal court. However, there's a prior Supreme Court decision that says that as a general matter that is not required in Social Security cases. There's also the fact that Social Security had announced prior to the Lucia decision that it would refuse to consider any argument about ALJ constitutionality. Why require that an objection be made when the agency has announced that it won't consider it?

     We've been waiting for the federal courts to act on this issue. There have been a number of decisions that have accepted Social Security's argument but those have been rather summary decisions that barely discussed the issue. We now have a more substantive decision in Muhammad v. Berryhill and it goes the other way. It's the recommended decision of a federal Magistrate Judge. The District Court judge could overrule this recommendation but it is certainly a substantive decision. We're a long way from even a Court of Appeals decision in this case.

     This issue may or may not end up at the Supreme Court. My guess is that it won't because the Courts of Appeals will all come down against Social Security. Even though a number of District Courts have accepted the agency's arguments, I just think those arguments are weak.

Preview Of Culbertson v. Berryhill

      SCOTUS blog gives a preview of the oral arguments coming up this week before the Supreme Court in Culbertson v. Berryhill on the computation of federal court attorney fees for representation in Social Security cases in the federal courts.

SSA To Pay $12.4 Million For Early Intervention

     From a contracting notice recently posted by the Social Security Administration:

Contract Award Dollar Amount:

$12,378,342.00...

Contractor Awardee:

MATHEMATICA POLICY RESEARCH, INC.
1100 1ST STREET NE
12TH FLOOR
WASHINGTON

DC
200024221
USA 

Synopsis: ... 

Single Award Cost Plus Fixed Fee 5-year Contract for Retaining Employment & Talent After Injury/Illness Network (RETAIN) Evaluation - This is a joint project between SSA, the Department of Labor (DOL), and several states. The purpose of the contract is to evaluate the impact of the various interventions implemented under cooperative agreements between the states and the DOL.

     I hope this study shows that early intervention works but let me list just a few of the reasons I don't think it will work very well:

• Most people who become disabled are disabled by degenerative conditions, like diabetes or osteoarthritis. These conditions just get worse with time. Rehabilitating people with this sort of problem isn't realistic. As soon as you get them able to do a new job, their condition has worsened to the point they can't do it.
• Pain is a huge factor in producing disability.  No intervention can take away the pain. If pain prevents one type of work, it's almost certain to prevent other types of work.
• Mental illness is a major cause of disability. It’s not so amenable to intervention that  helps to preserve the ability to work.
• People with below average cognitive abilities are dramatically over-represented among the population of people who apply for Social Security disabilities. That's because their limited intellectual abilities limit them to simpler, more physically demanding work to begin with and make it almost impossible for them to switch to other less demanding work. 
• This whole concept is based upon a misunderstanding of who applies for Social Security disability benefits and why they apply. Those who support this think that most disability is due to trauma and that if you can just help people figure out what they can do despite their injuries and give them a mobility scooter or whatever that they can go back to work. The thing is that the 12 month duration of disability requirement in the definition of disability that is written into the Social Security Act means that folks who are disabled by trauma either go back to their old jobs or figure out something else they can do on their own or with the help of programs that already exist well before 12 months have passed. I don't know that there's anything new that can be offered to help people in this situation. If you wanted to do something useful, you could better fund state vocational rehabilitation agencies. Besides, it's such a small component of disability that it doesn't matter that much anyway.
• In any case, as far as I'm concerned, Mathematica is nothing more than a Beltway Bandit. They get lots and lots of government contracting money but nothing they do ever helps anyone.

Field Office Supervisor Steals Over $700,000 From Claimants

     A press release:

RALEIGH, N.C. – Robert J. Higdon, Jr., the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, announces that a Federal grand jury in Raleigh has returned a thirteen-count indictment charging STEPHANIE CHAVIS, age 42, of Saint Pauls, North Carolina, with ten counts of Wire Fraud, two counts of Aggravated Identity Theft, and one count of Theft of Government Property.

The indictment alleges that beginning in or about August 2010, and continuing until in or about April 2018, CHAVIS engaged in a scheme to defraud the Social Security Administration by using her supervisory position to divert more than $700,000 in funds meant for SSI beneficiaries into bank accounts controlled by CHAVIS.

The indictment further alleges that CHAVIS advanced this scheme by convincing unsuspecting employees to manually process unauthorized payments on SSI beneficiary accounts using the beneficiaries’ personal identifying information and CHAVIS’s bank account information.

If convicted of all counts, CHAVIS faces a maximum penalty of twenty-four years imprisonment. She also faces a minimum two-year consecutive term of imprisonment on each aggravated identity theft count.

The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

The case is being investigated by the Social Security Administration’s Office of the Inspector General. Special Assistant United States Attorney Tamika Moses is prosecuting the case for the government.

     How did she get away with this for almost eight years? I thought there were internal controls in place that would catch something like this. Wouldn't the people whose money was stolen have noticed and said something? My guess is that whatever internal controls have been in place are about to get strengthened nationally.
     My firm deals extensively with that field office. I think it's about to get turned upside down. I hope they're able to handle their normal workload.
     I also hope that Social Security promptly pays the money that was owed to the claimants involved. That should be a priority.

Wouldn't That Right Now Be "Clearly Established" At Least In The 9th Circuit?

     From Whalen v. McMullen, CA9, decided October 30, 2018:

While investigating Kathleen Whalen for fraud related to her application for social security benefits, Washington State Patrol officer John McMullen gained both her cooperation and entrance into her home by requesting her assistance in a fictitious criminal investigation. During his investigation, McMullen secretly videotaped Whalen both outside and inside her home. No criminal charges were ever lodged against Whalen, but the Washington Disability Determination Services division (“DDS”) of the Washington Department of Social and Health Services (“DSHS”) used at her social security hearing the footage surreptitiously filmed inside her home.

Whalen brought suit against McMullen under 42 U.S.C.§ 1983, alleging that McMullen’s entry into her home without a warrant and under false pretenses violated her Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures. She appeals a grant of summary judgment in favor of McMullen based on qualified immunity. W e conclude that McMullen violated Whalen’s Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights, but we agree with the district court that McMullen has qualified immunity from suit because the right was not clearly established. We affirm.

     I have seen this exact same tactic used in North Carolina. I think it's the way they're generally doing these investigations. I'm pretty sure they won't keep using this tactic in the 9th Circuit area. What about the rest of the country? I don't know that I'd want to do it if I were working for them or with them.