The Deseret News in Utah reports that over one million people are waiting for Social Security to act on their disability claims.
They include state rankings showing the percentage change from 2019 to 2022. Here are the top ten worst states:
- Florida = 156%.
- South Carolina = 147%.
- Texas = 142%.
- North Dakota = 132%.
- Wisconsin = 130%.
- Kansas = 128%.
- Arizona = 120%.
- New Hampshire = 114%.
- Mississippi = 111%.
- Georgia = 98%
Now here are the top ten best states. Note the actual improvement in six of them:
- Connecticut = 7%.
- Minnesota = 5%.
- Washington, D.C. = 2%.
- Missouri = <1%.
- Nevada = <-1%.
- South Dakota = -4%.
- Rhode Island = -11%.
- Oklahoma = -11%.
- Washington = -11%.
- Vermont = -21%.
- Alaska = -51%.
8 comments:
Lots of blood red states in the bottom 10, though Wisconsin and Arizona are starting to go purple, at least on the executive side.
Get ready for another epic backlog at OHO when these get moving. Thanks to astoundingly poor leadership, attorneys have left in droves over the past couple years, and the agency is struggling to find replacements thanks to its awful reputation and refusal to make the jobs remote as other agencies have done. For an example, the agency has, over several days, been unable to get even 100 applicants for a multi-vacancy announcement at the Richmond California NCAC that would‘ve closed in a day with over 500 applications back in the 2010s when the labor market for attorneys was poor.
Sorry, America. This agency is a hopeless failure that’s incapable of learning from even its most painful mistakes.
And Alaska makes 11. Just had to throw that out there. Alaska has a tiny population, it's not as hard to fall behind. That being said, they are behind, at least at the DDS. That ALSO being said, they are catching up pretty quick.
Most state DDSs do not pay enough to hire much less keep employees who handle these claims. Agency rumored solution - hire 450 lawyers and loan 450 to DDSs to help process claims. Hiring at SSA proceeds at a snail’s pace and then there is training. Leadership appears to be hampered by inability to plan for the future…hohum…public service continues to suffer.
where does a populous such as NY stand
Doesn't SSA give each State a block sum of money to operate DDS? Here in Florida, the State Disability Determination starting salary is $40K. Who would want such a stressful job for that amount? The cost of living is extremely high with auto and Windstorm insurance. Our Govenor is most likely syphoning funds for his lawsuits with Disney and Drag Queens.
Why not federalize the disability determination process? SSA could then put resources where most needed in order to balance service levels around the country. Why, in the 1950's did lawmakers think it was good policy to pt the DDS's under the states' control? This should be revisited.
I filed a Request for Reconsideration in October in Florida for a 65 year old man. I have access to the file and other than my letters trying to find out why there is a delay, no action at all has been taken since that filing. I have called the number for the Florida State Agency and left message after message an no one has ever called back.
I just told my client to call his Congressman. I do that not so much to see if it will help but more to alert the Congressional Representatives to just how bad the situation has become. If it helps my client, so much the better.
It is easy to see why Florida is number one on list of worst performing States.
And for those who think its all about me getting paid, cases like this pay very little since he is already getting retirement benefits and my fee is only 25% of the difference between what he is already getting and what he would be entitled to on disability. IN this case, about $300 more per month.
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