Mar 19, 2020

CMS Says Facetime And Skype Are OK To Use For Confidential Conversations. Why Not SSA?

     The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has now approved patient visits with physicians via Facetime and Skype, so why can't claimants and their attorneys use such services to do Social Security hearings during this time of emergency?

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Telephone hearings on the potato phone are no good.

Anonymous said...

So many issues with this question.
1. Not everyone has an iPhone, Mac, iPod, iPad - FaceTime is exclusive to iOS devices
2. Hearing must be recorded. It takes time to identify an enterprise solution for the technical challenges. It isn’t something that can be solved at your nearest electronic stores.

bloomington il attorney said...

Not shocking from an agency that is backward, intransigent, and full of hubris. We became a video hearing site approximately 2 years ago and it cost close to $1500, however we have saved the money in travel costs. Hearing office told us that no vendors allowed in the office now. Staff is doubling as hearing monitor, but just recording and not typing notes as vendors had done previously. With SSA it is a miracle that we have any hearings at all.