Sentencing In Fraud Case Involving Thousands Of Phony Claims

      From a press release:

Ivie Shevon Sajere has been sentenced for her role in a conspiracy that defrauded the Social Security Administration (“SSA”) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (“FEMA”) out of nearly $1,000,000.  The conspiracy involved the false filing of thousands of online applications for SSA retirement benefits and FEMA disaster benefits using stolen personal information.  …

“This sentence holds Sajere accountable for her role in this complex conspiracy to defraud the Social Security Administration, alone, of nearly seven hundred thousand dollars. She stole personal information of innocent people and used it to defraud the SSA by abusing its online services,” said Gail S. Ennis, Inspector General, for the Social Security Administration.  …

Social Security Underpaying Many Children

     From a recent report by Social Security's Office of Inspector General (OIG):

... Children may receive benefits if they are younger than age 18 and their parent is entitled to Old-Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance benefits. They may also qualify for benefits if they are 18 and older when they are a student at an elementary or secondary school. 

To be entitled to student benefits, beneficiaries must attend an educational institution full-time (at least 20 hours per week) and be age 19 and 2 months or younger. Student benefits cease either the month after the student stops attending school full-time or when the student attains age 19 and 2 months, whichever is sooner. 

We identified 16,632 beneficiaries who were entitled as children and placed in terminated payment status when they reached age 18; however, SSA recorded they remained full-time students past the termination month on the benefit record. 

SSA did not have adequate controls to ensure children who reached age 18 and still attended school received benefits. SSA did not properly continue benefits for 87 of the 100 students in our sample once they reached age 18, which resulted in $357,872 in underpayments. Based on our sample results, we estimate SSA underpaid 14,470 beneficiaries approximately $59.5 million.

We concluded SSA employees incorrectly input student information on beneficiaries’ records while using the Post Entitlement Online System and Modernized Claims System. This resulted in the termination of benefits for students aged 18 despite evidence of their continuing student enrollment. Further, SSA’s Title II Redesign System generally did not create alerts instructing SSA employees to determine whether students were still due benefits past age 18. ...

    I understand that this report may be attracting media attention. It should. This is poor performance.

    Update: I said this was attracting media attention. Turns out it's started even sooner than I thought. Joe Davidson at the Washington Post has a piece out on the problem.

SSA Employees Not So Happy

From: ^Commissioner Broadcast
Sent: Thursday, April 28, 2022 1:15 PM
Subject: Government-wide “Employee Voice” Pulse 3 Survey Results

A Message to All SSA Employees

Subject:  Government-wide “Employee Voice” Pulse 3 Survey Results

A few weeks ago, you received the third Government-wide “Employee Voice” pulse survey as part of a pilot series.  I’m writing to you to share the results and to thank you for taking the time to participate.  Overall, 35 percent of our employees responded, which is higher than the 17 percent Government-wide response rate and suggests that you are invested in improving our agency. 

The President’s Management Council —of which I am a member and is the primary Government-wide body that advises the President and the Office of Management and Budget on management issues across agencies—is using the data from your responses to understand how we can best support you.

You can review our results at the following dashboard: https://d2d.gsa.gov/report/government-wide-pulse-survey-pilot.

Although I am encouraged to see a slight improvement in the opinion that your workload is reasonable, I remain concerned about the level of exhaustion and lack of engagement you report feeling at work.  Please know that I am working with the Administration to make clear the very real effects of the budget we received, which drives hard choices.  I am hopeful that Congress will join me in supporting you as we work to improve service.

I am also concerned that many of you do not feel supported regarding issues of equity, work-life balance, and career advancement.  When I assumed the position of Acting Commissioner, one of my stated goals was to support all employees in pursuing their chosen career path.  We are working to make this a reality.

In the coming weeks, we will be in touch with more details about actions we are taking as we learn from you.

Kilolo Kijakazi, Ph.D., M.S.W.

Acting Commissioner

 

Note: I have had difficulty accessing the dashboard. It's confusing. While I was trying to figure it out, it locked up on me. Now, I  get an error message when I try to go back to it. 

Good luck.

CTH

You Snooze, You Lose

     Social Security got 1,000 applications for the position of Administrative Law Judge by midnight last night and closed the window to new applications.

    I wonder about a couple of things. First, is a process that requires an immediate response a good idea? I know that there are practical reasons for limiting the number of applications but the current process prioritizes those who follow these things closely, often for many years, and most of those are insiders. Second, how many applications would there have been by now if the same job bore the title of "Hearing Examiner"? Is it a good thing if the inclusion of the word "judge" in the job title is the biggest attraction of the job? The word "judge" helps attract qualified applicants and it helps the agency fill positions in areas of the country that aren't generally so attractive to job applicants, but I've always been a bit uncomfortable with the idea of dangling the word "judge" to attract applicants, even though my experience is that the vast majority of Social Security's ALJs try hard to live up to all the good things that the word "judge" implies.

Wanna Be An ALJ?

     Social Security has just announced that it is taking applications for the Administrative Law Judge position (ALJ) with the agency. 

    Act fast. They're only going to consider the first 1,000 applications.

Is There Any Way This Sort Of Thing Happens Without A Malicious Intent?

      From WOIO:

The Cleveland Social Security Office was evacuated Tuesday afternoon after white powder fell out of an envelope an employee opened. …

According to first responders, one employee was opening up a letter in the hallway when the white powder came out of the envelope. …

According to the FBI, after an assessment of the situation on the scene, it was determined there was no threat and employees were allowed to return to work.

9th Circuit Rules That New Regs Supercede Prior Court Precedent

      From the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals' summary of its April 22, 2022 opinion in Woods v. Kijakazi:

... [T]he panel held that recent changes to the Social Security Administration’s regulations displaced longstanding case law requiring an administrative law judge (“ALJ”) to provide “specific and legitimate” reasons for rejecting an examining doctor’s opinion. For claims filed on or after March 27, 2017, that are subject to the new regulations, the former hierarchy of medical opinions – in which the court assigned presumptive weight based on the extent of the doctor’s relationship with the claimant – no longer applies. While the panel agreed with the government that the “specific and legitimate” standard was clearly irreconcilable with the 2017 regulations, the panel held that the extent of the claimant’s relationship with the medical provider – the “relationship factors” – remained relevant under the new regulations. An ALJ can still consider the length and purpose of the treatment relationship, the frequency of examinations, the kinds and extent of examinations that the medical source has performed or ordered from specialists, and whether the medical source has examined the claimant or merely reviewed the claimant’s records. However, the ALJ no longer needs to make specific findings regarding those relationship factors. ...

There Is No Free Lunch Nor Is There Any Free Way To Improve The Customer Experience At Social Security

     From Government Executive:

The White House wants to fundamentally change the way Americans access government services and benefits by focusing on the "life experiences" of those seeking assistance. ...

One type of improvement the administration is aiming for is decreasing the number of applications people have to fill out to get government programs.

Efforts to remake how people connect with government programs as they retire will include making a system where "any route you begin (via SSA, Medicare, other supports) leads you to an integrated experience that only requires giving the government information once," for example. ...

A new goal: for Americans seeing services to be able to apply in 20 minutes, enroll in 24 hours and get services in a week. ...

In terms of funding, "in many cases, service design improvements can be made at little to no cost. Depending on the life experience, digital design may need IT or people investments in order to design and build new digital solutions," the OMB spokesperson said, continuing on to say that the new framework ultimately "isn't about net new things" but instead "doing what we're already doing better." ...

CDR Coming For PA Lt. Governor Candidate?

 

No Kidding

      From Julia Manchester, writing for The Hill:

A poll conducted on behalf of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee found that a majority of battleground state voters would be less likely to support Republicans if the GOP moved to end Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. 

Sixty-five percent of respondents said they would be less likely to support the GOP “If Senate Republicans have a new plan that would end Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security in five years,” according to the poll ...

The findings come as Senate Democrats launch an onslaught of attacks on their GOP colleagues, pointing to Sen. Rick Scott’s (Fla.) GOP platform proposal that his office independently released in February. 

While Senate Republicans have not released their official agenda, Scott, who also chairs the National Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee, released one in his own capacity. ...

In the plan, Scott calls for all federal legislation to sunset within a period of five years. Such an action would allow the possibility for those programs to end if Congress did not approve them.  ...

You Can Comment On Forthcoming SSA.Gov Website

      From a Social Security blog:

We are excited to share a preview of our new website coming this year. ...

The new design – we call it our beta website – seeks to improve your online experience, so you can get to the information and services you need faster. We also include new interactive tools, like our new benefit eligibility screener. It’s a convenient way to learn if you might be eligible for benefits, without needing to know what benefit programs are available from Social Security.

Your opinion is very important to us. We invite you to explore our beta website at beta.ssa.gov and to use the “Feedback” button on the right side of the screen to tell us what you think. You can visit the website on your computer, tablet, and smartphone.

The beta website is a work in progress. Some links you select may take you to webpages on the current SSA.gov. ...

Supreme Court Holds That Denying SSI In Puerto Rico Is Constitutional

      Earlier this week I had noted that 16 of the 19 of the cases argued before the Supreme Court around the same time as U.S. v. Vaello-Madero, the case presenting the issue of whether it is constitutional to deny SSI to U.S. citizens who reside in Puerto Rico and other U.S. territories, had already been decided. My point was to expect a decision soon. The decision was announced today in U.S. v. Vaello-Madero. In an 8-1 decision the Court held that it is constitutional to deny SSI benefits in U.S. territories. Justice Sotomayor was the only dissenter. This issue goes back to the political arena. 

    Social Security has dodged a bullet. The agency would have had a terrible time dealing with an avalanche of SSI claims from Puerto Rico. If Congress does change the law so residents of U.S. territories can get SSI, the agency will have time to fully plan and staff up for the change and the change can be phased in.

ALJ Hiring Coming?

     Some Social Security Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) are saying that they hear that their agency may be advertising new ALJ positions in the near future. It's been a long time since any were hired. Attrition has really diminished the ALJ corps so this seems credible to me.

350,000 Federal Student Loans Discharged In Data Match With Social Security

     From Forbes:

Last year, the Biden administration announced a new initiative to streamline student loan relief for certain disabled borrowers. By allowing the Social Security Administration to share data with the Education Department about borrowers who were receiving Social Security Disability benefits, the administration could identify borrowers who would qualify for the TPD discharge program, and then cancel their student loans automatically.

Today, the administration announced that through this data sharing initiative, the Education Department has cancelled approximately $7 billion in federal student loan debt for 350,000 borrowers. ...

The Department anticipates that another 15,000 to 20,000 borrowers may receive TPD discharges every quarter going forward via the same data sharing program. ...

Hanging Fire

     The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in nineteen cases in October and November 2021. By this time, opinions have been announced in sixteen of the nineteen cases. One of the three still awaiting an opinion is U.S. v. Vaello-Madero, on the constitutionality of denying SSI to U.S. citizens who reside in Puerto Rico. I don't know what we can infer from the delay other than that there probably won't be a unanimous opinion.

I Think This Is Mostly Aimed At You, Social Security

    From a blog post by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), which is part of the White House:

Long forms, long lines, and lots of documents – these are the hurdles that can make it difficult and frustrating for individuals and communities to access government programs and services.

Today, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is taking action to cut down on these “administrative burdens” by issuing new guidance for Federal agencies to help them better understand, identify, and reduce the burdens people experience when accessing public benefits programs. The guidance outlines how agencies should apply the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), which governs how Federal agencies collect information, including the forms and paperwork people have to fill out when accessing government programs. ...

The memo directs Federal agencies in two key areas:

• Identifying administrative burdens. The PRA already requires agencies to document, analyze, and justify the information they collect on each form and gather public input on these points. This memo calls on Federal agencies to further engage with the public to fully understand their experience when applying for or submitting information to a benefits program. The memo also directs agencies to consider how other burdens in the process impose time, financial, and psychological costs on people.

• Reducing administrative burdens. The guidance also instructs agencies to consider policy, communication, technological, and design reforms that can make it easier for the public to access services. While there are no one-size-fits-all answers because of the unique purposes and populations served by each program, the memo encourages agencies to follow leading practices to reduce the challenges we already know make it harder for people to access services. ...
  

Happy Easter

 

Equity Action Plan Talks About Attorney Fees

      A press release:

Today, the Social Security Administration released its first Equity Action Plan, supporting President Biden’s whole-of-government equity agenda to advance equity, civil rights, racial justice, and equal opportunity for all.

On January 20, 2021, The President signed an Executive Order, Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government. The Executive Order requires all Federal agencies “to pursue a comprehensive approach to advancing equity for all, including people of color and other people who have been historically underserved, marginalized, and adversely affected by persistent poverty and inequality.”

“Social Security’s programs touch the lives of nearly every American, providing income security for the diverse populations we serve, including people facing barriers, people with disabilities, people who are widowed, retirees, and their families,” said Kilolo Kijakazi, Acting Commissioner of Social Security. “Systemic barriers may prevent people who need our programs the most from accessing them. Our Equity Action Plan will help to reduce these barriers and ensure people have access to our services.”

Social Security’s Equity Action Plan includes:

• Increasing collection of race and ethnicity data to help understand whether programs are equitably serving applicants and beneficiaries,
• Revising policies and practices to expand options for service delivery,
• Ensuring equitable access for unrepresented claimants in the disability application process,
• Decreasing burdens for people who identify as gender diverse or transgender in the Social Security number card application process, and
• Increasing access to research grant programs for Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Minority Serving Institutions and procurement opportunities for small and disadvantaged businesses.

To learn more about the actions outlined in the Equity Action Plan, please visit www.socialsecurity.gov/open/materials/SSA-EO-13985-Equity-Action-Plan.pdf. For more information about efforts to redress systemic barriers in policies and programs to advance equity for all, visit www.whitehouse.gov/equity.

    Here's a little from the Equity Action Plan that will be of immediate interest to some readers: 

... Some claimants get attorney or non-attorney representatives to assist with this process. However, representatives’ fees are based on awarded back benefits. This is a disincentive for representing SSI Disability applicants in favor of DI applicants, whose benefits are typically higher. There is evidence that although African American people are more likely to have a disability, they are less likely to be approved for disability benefits than White people. Considering this, we will assess whether African American claimants are less likely to have a representative than White claimants, research whether claimants who have representatives are more likely to receive disability benefits, reach out to claimants who do not have representatives to prepare them for their disability hearings and inform them of their right to representation, and work with professional associations of representatives to create incentives to increase their representation of disability program applicants. ...

[W]e are evaluating whether the current maximum fee of $6,000 that attorney and non-attorney representatives receive under the fee agreement process is enough. ...

    And on another topic:

... [W]e will: 

Explore establishing a Customer Experience (CX) office that reports directly to the Office of the Commissioner. ...

    That doesn't sound like an ombudsman or even a customer service office but it could be a step forward. Social Security has expended much effort telling the public how it must do business with the agency and more or less blaming the public for lousy service at the agency, as in telling the public that if they'd only just use online services, their service would be so much better, without noticing that the agency's online services are, on the whole, lousy and that many members of the public wouldn't be able to use them even if they were terrific. Quit blaming the customer.

A Question

      About a month ago, Congress finally passed an appropriations bill covering the Social Security Administration. In normal times the passage of a new appropriations bill means a lot of overtime at Social Security which is used to help catch up on backlogs. However, this appropriations bill was deeply disappointing. It did not give the beleaguered agency nearly enough additional operating funds to cover the rate of inflation since the last appropriations bill. 

    My question for Social Security employees is: "Have you seen additional overtime since the appropriations bill was passed?"

Social Security Today

 

Union Committed To Work From Home

      From Government Executive:

After two years of most of the agency’s offices being closed to the public—except by appointment—due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Social Security Administration reopened its traditional worksites last week.

But labor groups, who in January reached an agreement with the agency to negotiate further on the component level about how reentry would occur, reported that process was a mixed bag, with employees at teleservice centers and the agency’s around 1,200 field offices getting the short end of the stick.

Rich Couture, president of the American Federation of Government Employees Council 215, which represents employees in the Office of Hearing Operations, and chief negotiator for the union on reentry, said that although some offices, like his own, were successful in reaching agreement ahead of offices reopening last week, the majority were not.

"I can say that generally, with few exceptions, the component council meetings did not achieve their purpose,” he said. “There were whole issues that were not considered appropriate for discussion by the agency. It was primarily telework, but proposals to address process reform, workload management and those types of proposals were given a full hearing, much less discussed.” ...

Angela Digeronimo, president of AFGE Council 220, which represents employees in Social Security field offices and its teleservice centers, said nearly all of her union’s proposals, ranging from increased telework, setting up cohorts that would cycle into the office for a week while others work remotely—to mitigate spread of COVID-19—and preserving some office hours as by appointment only, were all flatly rejected by management.  ...

“The agency is saying, ‘We’re critically understaffed,’ and the agency is claiming that it’s because of the appropriations not being sufficient, so staffing will remain flat and we have been for four years. But it’s more than that: it’s the fact that they are not willing to reimagine how we do business with the public and reinvent services so they’re better for the public and also the work-life flexibilities for employees, so we’re not attracting or retaining people.” ...

    It is pure fantasy to believe that it will ever be acceptable to close Social Security's field offices so its employees can work from home. This isn't politically acceptable now and it won't be in the future. Union leaders whining about their intense desire that their members not be required to show up for work in the office won't get their members anywhere. Grow up.

They’re Right

      From a press release:

As the Social Security Administration (SSA) begins transitioning back to providing full, in-person service at its more than 1,200 field offices for the first time in over two years today, it still expects large crowds, long waits, and continued service delays. 

The SSA recommends that customers avoid delays and long waits by calling ahead to schedule an appointment, but has also warned the public that they may experience busy signals or dropped calls.

In a new letter led by Ways and Means Republican Leader Kevin Brady (R-TX), Subcommittee on Social Security Republican Leader Tom Reed (R-NY), and Subcommittee on Oversight Republican Leader Tom Rice (R-SC), Committee Republicans are urging Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal (D-MA) to hold a hearing to examine these challenges. …

Lewis Nominated To SSAB

      The President has nominated Sharon Beth Lewis of Oregon to become a member of the Social Security Advisory Board (SSAB). Here's some biographic info on Lewis:

Lewis is a Principal at Health Management Associates, where she consults with government entities, providers, and advocates to advance opportunities for people with disabilities to fully participate in all aspects of their communities. Before that, Lewis served nearly six years in presidentially appointed roles at the Department of Health and Human Services. There, she was one of the chief architects of the Administration for Community Living and worked to improve access to quality integrated home and community-based services by working with states, stakeholders, and other federal agencies, including the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Social Security Administration, and the Departments of Labor, Education, Transportation, and Justice.

Before joining the Obama administration, Lewis worked as a Senior Disability Policy Advisor to the House Committee on Education & Labor and as a Kennedy Public Policy Fellow for the Senate HELP Subcommittee on Children and Families. Lewis is the recipient of the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities Chairman’s Award and is a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis.

Long Line In Guam

    There's been a long line outside Social Security's field office in Guam. Yes, Guam is a U.S. territory so that's U.S. Social Security. 

First Report On Field Office Reopening

    From WHEC:

For the first time in two years, people could just walk into the Social Security office downtown to try to get someone to help them.

For five months, we've documented all kinds of problems and delays with the agency's phone system and operators, but Thursday the doors opened and we found someone who really needed the access.

I stood on Main Street asking people who walked in without an appointment—how did it go? Some said it was fine. Others were still frustrated. And then I saw a little 7-year-old girl walk out with her mom and considering where they came from, the offices opened at the right time. 

Jenna is 7 years old. She and her mother Yurina and escaped from Ukraine. 

"I'm helping my friends," Viktor Kachaluba said. "They come from Ukraine, like refugee."

This mother and daughter recently came into the United States through Mexico. They came to the Social Security office when it opened today in the hopes of getting a number. ...

Within two hours of opening, about 50 people came to the office and I watched more arrive every minute. 

People waited in the lobby to get escorted to the second floor. 

"I just needed my social security card," Deshawn Terry said. "And the phone lines were tied up so I just decided to come down."

"Yes, I've called numerous times," Ann Randall said. "I've been on hold, ringing for hours." ...

    If you work in a field office, how is reopening going so far?

They Call This The Waterfall Chart

 

Click on image to view full size

How Will Reopening Affect This?

      This Caseload Analysis Report has been uploaded by Social Security. It's basic operating statistics from the agency's Office of Hearings Operations.

Click on image to view full size

Advance Designation Of Rep Payee Form Leaks Out

      Social Security has a form to make an advance designation of representative payee but for reasons unknown to me they won’t release the form to the public. What good does it do to have the form but not release it to the public? However, a wills and estates law firm has gotten a copy and posted it online. 

April 7 Is The Day

      Social Security field offices will reopen to the public on April 7, per an agency press release. 

     Good luck.

It Rings And Rings And Rings

      From KFOR:

Oklahomans in need of new Social Security cards claim they can’t get the help they need, but federal officials say more aid will soon be available. 

Between 12-hour nursing shifts and caring for two kiddos, Mikyla Cartwright stays quite busy. 

But lately, much of her free time has been spent on the phone, fighting to find her four month old’s information. 

Her son, Xander, was born back in November. Mikayla tells KFOR she opted for the hospital to file for Xander’s Social Security card.

For whatever reason though, the card never came. Come tax time, Mikyla grew concerned and decided to file for Xander’s Social Security card herself.

When she stopped by her local office, she said the door was locked. Mikyla called the number on the door, which didn’t help. 

“Longest I was ever on hold was two days, I mean two working days,” said Mikyla. “It just rings, it rings and rings and rings.” …

SSA To Allow Self-Selection Of Sex

      From a press release:

Kilolo Kijakazi, Acting Commissioner of Social Security, announced that the agency will offer people the choice to self-select their sex on their Social Security number (SSN) record. The agency anticipates this option will be available in the fall of 2022. ...

People who update their sex marker in Social Security’s records will need to apply for a replacement SSN card. They will still need to show a current document to prove their identity, but they will no longer need to provide medical or legal documentation of their sex designation once the policy change becomes effective. SSN cards do not include sex markers. ...

    This appears to be part of a larger Biden Administration effort to ease the lives of transgender Americans.

    Why should Social Security even bother to collect gender information? Prohibitions on same sex marriage used to affect benefits payments but that was external to Social Security and those prohibitions are now gone. Social Security benefit payments themselves have been gender neutral for many decades.

AFGE And Social Security In Contentious Relationship

      From the Washington Post: 

 … AFGE leaders criticized officials [at Social Security] for continuing to act like Trump’s anti-union edicts remain in effect, despite Biden’s policies to the contrary.

“You still have those holdovers from the previous administration,” Kelley told reporters, “that just don't want to give up any form of authority.”

Social Security officials continue to pursue an “aggressive anti-union/anti-employee bargaining approach … undoubtedly directed by the Trump orders,” said an email from Rich Couture, AFGE’s spokesman on Social Security.

Among the current Social Security polices Couture cited as “antithetical” to Biden’s agenda are “draconian official time cuts” and the “elimination and reduction of union office space nationwide, which similarly limits our ability to represent and access employees, especially now with reentry at agency installations now starting.” Official time allows union leaders to represent workers in limited ways, such as grievance procedures, while on government time.

A Social Security statement said it “complied with all of the administration’s labor policies and is fully committed to positive relations with our labor partners. Last year, we offered to renegotiate major provisions of our collective bargaining agreements with all three of our unions. Two of our unions accepted and we are currently in contract negotiations with them. AFGE did not accept that offer and is pursuing arbitration to revoke the entire 2019 contract.” …

Help Please

      For some time now I've been posting the Caseload Analysis Report issued by Social Security's Office of Hearings Operations (OHO). To their credit, OHO has been voluntarily releasing it. 

    I'm sure that other Social Security components produce similar reports. I'd like to see some of them. I can request them under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) but it would help if I knew what the reports are called. I'd be interested in the names of the operational reports for the Disability Determination Services (State Agency Operations Report?), Field Offices, Teleservice Centers and Payment Centers. The names of the reports can't be some closely held secret. Can anyone help me with just the names of the reports?

    It's hard to imagine any harm to the agency in the public having a better idea of the agency's operations. It might be of help in obtaining an adequate operating budget.