From Jonathan Stein and David Weaver writing in The Hill:
The Social Security Administration's (SSA’s) 1,200 field offices have been closed for the last 20 months, with devastating effects for disabled Americans. Pre-pandemic, more than 43 million Americans were served at SSA field offices; the people most in need of walk-in, on-demand services included people with low- or zero-incomes, housing instability, limited English proficiency, or significant physical or mental disabilities that were themselves barriers to access. With office closures, their inability to file applications and appeals and to correct bureaucratic errors has led to historically unprecedented declines in people receiving Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) disability benefits.
In fiscal year (FY) 2021, SSA's awards of SSDI benefits to disabled persons and their family members were down 25 percent relative to FY 2019. SSI disability awards, granted to people without much work history, were down even more, with a 30 percent decline.Had SSI awards continued at the pre-pandemic level, there would have been 280,000 more SSI awards over the last two fiscal years. In the pre-pandemic years of FY 2017-2019, SSDI awards were declining only modestly; had that trend continued, there would have been 270,000 more SSDI awards in the last two fiscal years. ...
The decline in awards has continued to the present period. SSDI and SSI awards for September 2021 were down 34 and 42 percent, respectively, from the figures for September 2019. ...
It is crucial that office reopening allow for walk-in service. Many current or potential SSI beneficiaries lack reliable access to internet or have limited minutes available for their phones. ...
Last, but certainly not least: It is 11 months into the current administration, and there has yet to be a nomination of a Social Security Commissioner. Many of the needed changes in policy and personnel at SSA can only be made by a Senate-confirmed commissioner, and time is running out to act before the next election. ...
21 comments:
Field office closure is not responsible for the drop in disability awards. Nearly everyone has access to either a phone or computer. This is 2021, not 1921. The main reason for the drop in claims is that during the pandemic state and local governments dropped the requirement that people must file for SSI in order to access or maintain needs-based assistance. Furthermore, many people file for disability out of desperation when they are laid off or fired. Thanks to the extended unemployment benefits that were in place for 18 months, that desperation did not exist during the pandemic.
It is a problem for some SSI claimants with the FO being closed. Perhaps the FO could be staffed with volunteers, or low risk employees for a couple of days per week to see those SSI claimants in need, by appointment.
However there would have been even more of a devastating effect if the FO remained open and workers and the general public had caught COVID19. Those offices would've been super spreaders.
I don't think it is feasible even now for SSA FO to reopen for walk ins, especially 5 day per week. There are just too many breakthrough COVID cases which would put even the fully vaccinated SSA employees at risk. And for members of the general public who are not vaccinated, going into crowded FO could cause them to become very ill.
As for the SSA commissioner Perhaps Kilolo Kijakazi could stay on as Acting Commissioner or even be made permanent. She seems to me to be doing a good job, is getting advice, not rushing into making rash decisions like Saul did. Also she does not have an adversarial relationship with AFGE, as Andrew Saul did. The morale of SSA employees is much higher now than under Saul's authoritarian regime.
I'm sure there is some big chunk of marginalized folks who haven't filed claims or done other acts with SSA because offices have been closed, but like with the huge spike in apps in the late aughts, there are a few other big reasons for that.
Already mentioned above--other gov't benefits flowing to these folks early in the pandemic (SSI is traditionally required to be filed for in order to get other State, etc. benefits and largely was not so required during the pandemic and SSI/disability generally is the move of "last resort" for many people lacking income); the job market on the low end of the wage spectrum getting a lot more favorable in recent months due to difficulties getting people to keep taking cruddy jobs at low pay (disabled and other significantly limited workers can find and keep jobs more easily); and don't forget the age cohorts!
Boomers are gone in terms of the disability program--almost all (all?) are over 62 now; no more disability claims. The age cohorts after the Boomers are all tiny in comparison--there just are fewer people (relative to recent years) in their adult-but-less-than-retirement-age years and thus fewer SSI/DIB applicants relative to Boomer-applicant-filled years. I saw OHO's own projections of receipts in coming years back in 2018-2019 before the pandemic was even a twinkle in our eye and they showed a precipitous drop off in claims in the coming years. Again, offices not being opened is surely leaving some people behind, but this large shrink was predicted well before COVID came to town.
You can file for disability up until FRA, meaning that the last boomer disability claim will not be taken until 2031.
It is folly to believe it has had no impact.
@8:18
When would it be safe? The death rate from Covid for fully vaccinated persons is 0.0012. Why should government policy and service be dictated by individuals that refuse to get vaccinated?
Anecdotally, field office closures in my region have had a tremendous negative impact on service--even among claims that are represented. I have a compassionate allowance case with an improper overpayment due to early retirement, and SSA is not addressing the issue timely. Another compassionate allowance case took 2-3 months longer than it should of to get resolved.
And a 25-30% drop in disability in 2 years was not predicated. Please cite to that report. Are you seriously trying to argue the decline would have been similar irrespective of Covid?
12:09 Your cited death rate for the fully vaccinated, seems to be off.
In Maryland from Aug 23 - Oct 18, 32% of the 405 deaths among confirmed COVID cases were in fully vaccinated individuals That's 130 deaths of fully vaccinated people, in Maryland alone.
I suspect that number would be higher if SSA offices were open, especially as national SSA HQ, and PC7 are in Maryland.
I have many illiterate clients who cannot go online and file a claim. Blind ppl also have issues with it. Additionally, DDS workers are not answering their phone. I understand that that some field offices are understaffed but we are past the time for them to return to work in person. 2 different LDO workers told me thy are relying on the hotspot from their phone to look up cases. How can this be efficient?
The local offices here are not processing paperwork. Files are sitting for months and not being processed and sent to DDS.
@12.09 Please send me your source for the Maryland data.Seems many have fallen for the anti-vax rhetoric. I may be misinterpreting what they mean by 1.2 deaths per 100,000 (unclear if the 100,000 are confirmed infections or population wide). Seems like they mean entire population, which means the death rate is higher. https://nbcmontana.com/news/coronavirus/rise-in-breakthrough-deaths-should-not-cast-doubt-on-vaccines-experts-say
A CDC analysis conducted in 13 U.S. jurisdictions as the delta variant began to spread between mid-June and mid-July found the fully vaccinated accounted for 16% of deaths, 14% of hospitalizations, and 18% of all new infections. Researchers said the frequency of breakthrough cases was higher than expected and reflected a possible decline in vaccine efficacy, but the vaccines still provided substantial protection against severe outcomes.
That trajectory continued through the summer. In 16 jurisdictions representing 30% of the U.S. population, the death rate among the vaccinated jumped from 0.1 per 100,000 people in late June to 1.2 per 100,000 at the height of the delta surge in August. Among the unvaccinated, though, the death rate per 100,000 people went from 1.9 to 13 during the same period.
According to a CDC report published earlier this month, 85% of breakthrough deaths in the U.S. through August occurred in adults 65 and older. Studies have also shown people with underlying medical conditions are at greater risk for severe breakthrough infections or death.
@2:57 Same in New York. One of the larger field offices we deal with has messed up virtually every case we send them. They denied one client within a month for supposed earnings that were never verified. They didn't even send out an 821 or ask for proof that he stopped working.
@2:14
You need to consider the vaccination rate too. The more people vaccinated, the greater % of deaths from vaccinated persons. Statistics can be misleading. You still need to look at the population wide death rate, which well below 1% for vaccinated persons.
All of the data from various states and federal sources shows that risk of death is 10X lower for vaccinated population. This is even greater for persons under 65
The Maryland Department of Health released statistics that while the total number of deaths in Maryland among vaccinated people since the vaccines came out is .0065%, between Sept. 1 and Oct. 15, they accounted for 30% of COVID-19 deaths.
I work in an FO and they should be reopened. They will be in January. Should have been months ago.
Some service will be better but until fully opened like 2 years ago, it may not be much better. Phone calls in our office have doubled to tripled. Many will still be calling if there are only limited appointments. But less people to answer phones and claimants in the office will get priority over other workloads, like 1696s, etc. I hope it all works out somehow. 25% of our claims reps retired during this shutdown. There are a couple of new ones that aren't very good yet.
No one has mentioned this. Right now we have a worker shortage in the country and a low unemployment rate. It is a great time to be looking for work. Why is this relevant? Because in a tight labor market, employers desperate for workers are more likely to accommodate those with impairments than when the labor market is more favorable to employers. In a normal labor market, the employer is more likely to hire the young, healthy applicant over the older applicant who has impairments. SSA's disability process does not consider "reasonable accommodation." Contrary to popular belief in some quarters, our clients would like to work if they could work. Perhaps fewer workers would be on disability if we had strong enforcement of the ADA.
This is anecdotal, but our firm has found over the years that the number of persons seeking our services goes down when the unemployment rate goes down.
The other thing that may have affected SSI apps was pandemic unemployment. There is less incentive to file for benefits when you are getting a check every week.
This does not mean the closed offices had no impact. But there were other factors at work.
@8:18
What exactly is making the Acting COSS more effective, and how exactly are you measuring your statement that "The morale of SSA employees is much higher now"?
Acting COSS is not making any real decisions (because she really can't in an acting capacity), and she's going through "paralysis by analysis" which is not productive for the agency. SSA needs someone that's a true leader, and is able to act on the benefit of the public, not necessarily the benefit of the employees or the Unions. Like it or not, Saul was decisive in this decisions based on what the public needed, not what the entitled federal employees wanted.
There have been a few names floated around as potential replacements, Congress just needs to get their butts in gear and nominate someone that's truly bipartisan. 6-year terms were created for a reason, and they should allow a permanent COSS to finish off their term unless deemed unfit to do so (which Saul's situation did not fit the bill, just for the record). Feel free to argue otherwise, but you would be arguing about feelings instead of facts.
So nice of Andrew Saul to take time out of his busy morning to chime in.
I had a hearing yesterday of a widow that took over her H's case after she found him hanging by a dog leash on their front porch. He couldn't get his benefits started back after going to jail for a few months for not paying fine on a fender bender. The field office couldn't get his checks started back up even though incarcerated for way less than 12 months. They lasted about a year, he succeeded in killing himself on the third attempt. Yes, federal employees' health is important but they can vax and wear masks. Their job is to help disabled people. They need to do their job. It is life or death. They are still getting paid full pay working from their comfortable bedrooms in their PJ's. These people are dying.
He could have been paid via CPS whether he came in or not if there was a system glitch. It's just usually an FO input to reinstate. This tragedy sounds as if it has less to do with offices open as much as SSA not doing the job timely and correctly.
8:01 If you think Andrew Saul was a "true leader" at SSA , then you are in a very small minority. He was in over his head from day one. Saul imposed his dictates without knowing what he was doing. His tenure at SSA was pretty much a disaster for both SSA workers and the public.
4:03 If someone is doing their job well from home what difference does it make what he or she is wearing. And better they are wearing PJ's at home than a hospital gown in a COVID hospital ward.
2:14 I do not know about Maryland's death rate, but I can tell you about California's death rate for vaccinated people. At the beginning of the summer it was .04% a week for vaccinated folk. It has now become .4% which while not great means that in a week, if everyone was vaccinated in California we would expect about 15 deaths. That is 811 a year.
On the other hand, there were 3606 fatalities due to auto accidents in California in 2019. So you are over 4 times as likely to die in an auto accident than from Covid if you are vaccinated in California.
It is past time the field offices reopen.
It is past time to close the field offices permanently. They are a relic of the past.
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