From an op ed by Jonathan Stein and David Weaver in the New York Times:
At a time when the pandemic has hit the disabled and elderly the hardest, they also face the erosion of a critical income lifeline, Supplemental Security Income (S.S.I.). The program has collapsed during the pandemic: From July to November 2020, the Social Security Administration awarded benefits to about 100,000 fewer individuals compared with the same period last year. In July 2020 the agency distributed just 38,318 new awards — the fewest in 20 years of available data.
At this rate, more than 230,000 low-income disabled and elderly Americans will miss out on vital cash benefits and access to health care (via Medicaid, which S.S.I. recipients generally qualify for) in one year. ...
The immediate cause of this ongoing crisis is the closure of Social Security’s network of 1,200 field offices during the Covid-19 pandemic. Generally, the agency does not take online applications for S.S.I. benefits, leaving these disabled and elderly people with one primary service option: calling its overburdened general phone line. Further, the field offices were a source of information and assistance for millions of Americans, many challenged by cognitive, learning, language and poverty-related issues. ...
Even before this crisis, two-thirds of those who completed the initial 23-page application for the program failed to qualify under the current burdensome disability and means tests. ...
Social Security executives are aware of the existing and pandemic-era challenges and are making good-faith efforts to address them, including a rare and laudatory engagement with claimants’ advocates. But these important steps by the agency are undermined by an effort to close the doors to hundreds of thousands of claimants during a time of economic collapse and labor market contraction. ...
The S.S.I. elderly and disabled await Jan. 20, and a Biden White House that understands their plight.
SSA needs a complete overhaul. Hopefully, it will happen sooner rather than later.
ReplyDeleteObama and Biden were there for 8 years and offered no change or new ideas to SSI. What in the world makes the writer include that last sentence? SSI certainly needs updating but not the give everything to everyone mentality currently in fashion.
ReplyDeleteWas this a problem specific to SSI or DI, too?
ReplyDeleteIs this a case of the collapse of administrative capacity due to a scenario no one was prepared for or evidence that SSA did not care enough about SSI applicants?
Seems like many of the institutions that serve the needy failed under these conditions, and that the Trump Administration failed at serving virtually every segment of the population during the pandemic.
Why has SSA never allowed claimants to apply for SSI on the SSA website?
ReplyDeleteBecause it is to technical for the system to handle.
DeleteThe Op-Ed article speaks to "closed doors" .. suggesting that SSA open field offices and expose workers to COVID and bring it home to their families. SSA is continuing to work , albeit remotely. Telephone calls to the Field Offices have increased 3 fold. Expedients have been implemented to facilitate case processing and the submission of required evidence. A stream lined waiver process has been implemented and exclusions of Stimulus related income and the effect on SSI payments. It all boils down to the failure of the Executive Branch get the " shots in the arms " . Operation Warp Speed -- give me a break !!!
ReplyDeleteAnon 11:13 I have seen it mainly for SSI.
ReplyDeleteI just had a claimant who is on Medicaid and food stamps. But is being denied for SSI based on income. Allegedly, a local SSA official told her she had to reprove she was disabled. This sounded fishy. So I called the local SSA official who denied this. Now, I am not sure who is lying but I do believe local SSAs use scare tactics to get people to go away. This claimant was married before to a very famous person. However, this was person died a long time ago. She was remarried and now divorce in April 2020. My hunch is the local SSA believes she or ex-husband is hiding more income.
Just wish this claimant had gotten SSD. If so, it is just a matter of the local SSA clicking a button to look up the PIA and paying the benefits. So I have not seen nearly as much problem with SSD.
ReplyDeleteThe FO had to be closed due to COVID19, to protect both the SSA workers and the claimants. Many of those who visit the FO are immunocompromised or elderly and those groups are at the highest risk should they catch the virus.
I work very hard from home and I'm tired of seeing articles which imply that SSA should reopen all offices and place everyone at great risk. I do not want to catch this virus and then give it to those close to me.
As a general rule, information given to us identifies individuals most likely to contract covid-19 or suffer the most from covid-19 are included within population groups that are eligible or potentially eligible for SSI. As a general rule, information given to us identifies individuals least likely to contract covid-19 or suffer the least from covid-19 are children. Teachers have been able to eliminate or significantly reduce their exposure to children (their customers) to do their job. What considerations should be in place for field office employees to do their job and have their health protected from exposure to covid-19 from the scientific data that documents the covid-19 risks associated with their customers? Are concerns for teachers that much greater than concerns for field office employees? How can we help field offices handle the work that must be done in an accurate manner and protect against misunderstanding, misrepresentation, or fraud when handling workloads and documentation needs for SSI?
ReplyDelete@ 112 Why has SSA never allowed claimants to apply for SSI on the SSA website?
ReplyDeleteThere are many exclusions but first time filers can file online for SSI.
In addition, people who are only going to qualify for SSI can file SSA disability online and click the box so that the office will contact them to file SSI, if they can not file themselves online for SSI also. A significant number of online claims that are SSA only end up being SSI only because of the restrictions for online SSI filing. But those folks are contacted by the local SSA office and applications are done over the phone.
Another way they can file is call and make an appointment.
If you take claimants as clients there is a HUGE need for assistance in navigating the ways to apply now. Some need to alter their business practices - especially if you say 'come see me after you have been denied twice'. Some people can't get the application in. the numbers prove it.
ReplyDeleteThe managers association has been spinning a different tale that the past 9 months have been a huge success. People have been retiring in droves because of the mess that Trump and Saul created.
ReplyDelete@ 5:47
ReplyDeleteI agree totally. It's not surprising that many people with disabilities tend to need help with a complex application and process. SSA is looking at ways to simplify the application and process which helps, but no matter how successful they are in doing that there needs to be an increase in assistance available to claimants.
Many are not qualifying for SSImthat previously did due to increased unemployment benefits...
ReplyDeleteJust to say there are less SSI allowances is a misleading statistic, and doesn't warrant a bunch of inferences about how SSA is doing some injustice to people.
ReplyDeleteFor example, there is a huge number of disab claims that were put on "pause" because of covid. Anyone that couldn't be contacted and normally would be processed out as WU or FTC, instead had to be held. These cases are recently coming back out, with requirement to essentially start the contacting process over.
Regarding some of the other comments, a) people should remember that SSI (T16) is 100% a gift paid for by other tax payers and not something anyone is "entitled" to, b) its a different /financial/ qualification process completely from Title 2 (aka SSD; SSDI; DIB; etc) the claimant has to essentially be "poor" (and usually disabled, but could just be old and poor), c) someone can get Medicaid or food stamps and still have a bunch of money in the bank, and be rejected for "resources", ... etc, etc. .