From The Observer of Dunkurk, NY:
House Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee Chairman John B. Larson and Republican Leader Tom Reed have sent two letters to Social Security Administration Inspector General Gail S. Ennis asking for a review of SSA’s telephone service during the COVID-19 pandemic and SSA’s process for obtaining medical evidence for disability claims.
It sounds like they are not happy with SSA's telephone service and process of securing medical records during the pandemic. But SSA has done well all things considered. Telephone wait times have not increased by much, if at all.
ReplyDeleteSome people are resentful of SSA offices being closed, but with the pandemic and the surge in COVID-19 cases, this is the best way to keep employees and the general public safe and health. There should be a vaccine in a few months, and only after the vaccine should SSA reopen.
Indeed , telephone contact is the only way to go at this time. BTW who is going to try the 1st vaccine that becomes available. Mr. Commissioner , how do you like your eggs ( on your face ) , after suspending All telework you are offering employees working remotely the opportunity to secure additional hardware ( 2nd monitor, keyboard, mouse) via curbside pick-up at their offices. These tools greatly enhance work efficiency ! When you consider that medical evidence comes from the source is it any surprise that this a low priority for medical facilities during a pandemic.
ReplyDeleteAgency rules for SSA staff obtaining medical evidence can easily result in failure to obtain records, if SSA staff do the minimum permitted. The agency rule is something like send out the request, send a reminder in 10 days, and wait a bit longer and check, then its ok to give up then if you don't receive the records. Anyone who has done a lot of medical record requests knows that in a typical case you will have to do a lot more than that to get all the records. Looking over SSA files I see that some agency employees go beyond the minimum required and tend to get a much higher percentage of available records, while some don't. I understand it is a limited resources issue as far as available staff time, but the problem should be recognized. Unrepresented people who can't afford or otherwise obtain record copies rely on SSA to gather them. If the records are not getting gathered, then the full extent of their disabilities are not being evaluated, which tends to facilitate claim denials. As a result, dockets get clogged with more appeals and new claims. Also there is a human suffering cost associated with those denials and delays.
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