Social Security's Chief Actuary has released a very brief memo on its finding that the new musculoskeletal Listings will have almost no net effect upon the number of disability claims approved. I don't understand why it took so long to release this. The memo includes this paragraph:
To assist in estimating the effects of the final rule, SSA conducted a case study in 2017covering approximately 1,400 initial DDS-level decisions made in 2015. In comparing determinations of these sample cases using the prior criteria and new criteria, a small number of determinations were expected to change from allowance to denial under the new rule, primarily because their case files do not contain all of the medical evidence required under the new rule.
So it's not really the Chief Actuary's office that did this study. It was actually done by the people who proposed these new Listings and it was done based upon an earlier version of the Listings rather than the final version.
Why is the Chief Actuary putting this out as if his office did it and as if it was based upon the actual Listings adopted? I know why Social Security management would want this coming from the Chief Actuary. He has credibility. Current management doesn't. I don't know why he would put his name on a study his office didn't do. I don't think this is going to age well.
And, oh yeah, I'd like to see the actual study itself instead of some brief summary of it.
Due to the fact mainstream media refuses to expose the chicanery in this program they get by with things like it's 1950 or something. Saul has taken something that was already bad and taken it to the point of collapse and catastrophe for the disabled. Everything done in the recent past has been to screw the disabled and impair their ability to get quality representation. This is all clearly moving toward finding almost no one disabled under the program and ultimately privatizing and monetizing it for some Wall Street scum to feed on. Saul is now gutting District offices and selling off facilities with room to serve the public for small areas that will be by appointment and computer access only. At some point at the rate we are going the disabled won't even be able to afford internet service much less computers. In my area ALJ's are leaving and it appears instead of replacing them overflow is starting to shift to Falls Church and possible off the books judges. Had a woman come in recently that finally got her first denial after one year of wait time at the initial level. Time to sack Saul and all of the enablers in this agency and force it to return to it's mission statement to help disabled Americans.
ReplyDeleteI had a hearing last week where the medical expert testified that the claimant did not meet a musculoskeletal listing but would have met one of the old ones.
ReplyDelete