From Emergency Message EM-24021:
With the enactment of our full-year appropriation for this fiscal year, we are lowering our Full Medical CDR t[Continuing Disability Review] arget from 575,000 to 375,000.
This reduction will allow DDSs [Disability Determination Services] to focus on processing Initial Disability Claims and Reconsideration cases. The field offices will not send additional Full Medical CDRs to the DDS for the remainder of FY 2024. ...
Do not assign unassigned CDRs pending in your receipt or staging queue. DDS should take no action on the unassigned Full Medical CDRs. ...
Age 18 Redeterminations:
If you have sufficient evidence in file at the publication date of this emergency message, make the Age 18 Redetermination.
If the evidence in file at the publication date of this emergency message is insufficient to make the Age 18 Redetermination:a. Do not initiate additional development, such as requesting medical evidence of record (MER) or school records;
b. Do not schedule for consultative examinations (CE); and,
c. Do not assign to medical or psychological consultant(s) for review. ...
9 comments:
Since there is minimal ROI conducting CDR's after the age 59, they should cease CDRs for this demographic permanently.
SSA has been manipulating CDR workloads for years and had DDS’s stop processing CDRs when they reached their FY quota, even when the case was ready for a decision. This was abusive to clients awaiting a decision to know if their benefits would continue or not.
Hopefully, this signals a change of course in SSA’s covert and abusive practice, at least in notifying claimants. Previously SSA would never put this in writing to DDS Administrators.
Oh wow, this is very, very illegal. CDRs are performed under a specific statutory authority for program integrity (PI) activities. The Congressional intent in separating PI from operational funding is to protect PI activities from being crowded out by operational activities. See HR 2882, Title IV.
8:51, they can't use the PI money for non-PI issues, but if they already spent all the PI money for the year, is it illegal for them not to do any more CDRs? Were all the CDR backlogs in previous years illegal? Not arguing; truly asking.
I expect that O'Malley knows this will generate Congressional heat. He'll probably use a larger share of RZs (SSI Redeterminations) as the main program integrity workload.
There’s nothing in HR 2882 that requires a specific number of CDRs, it gives the appropriations to conduct CDRs with. The EM starts by saying it’s being issued based on the appropriation given.
So, O’Malley is saying-we have $x to do CDRs this year, that means we’re budgeted to do 375K, and that’s all we’re going to do.
He’s formalizing in an EM that the agency can do no more with the less they’ve been given. I like it.
You could argue he’s fudging the numbers, but I like this stance & I’ll enjoy watching any fight that comes from it.
This is done every year and wastes thousands of dollars. In seven months the cases will need to be re developed Buy new MER new CEs. Try to find out where the claimants are after six seven months
This is not "very illegal." The EM does not state SSA will use PI funds for regular operation funding. O'Malley is de-prioritizing CDRs, so this is move is not in obvious contradiction with the statute. In any case, this is a smart political maneuver, as it will likely get the attention of Congress, and further highlight the crisis at SSA. O"Malley is very savvy political operator, which is a talent desperately needed at SSA. He is pushing the limits of his authority and getting things done quickly. He is making the last acting Commissioner look like a incompetent do nothing figurehead.
What do you think the next Trump appointee will do? Trump's stated intention is to deconstruct the Administrative State, and create a unitary executive that exerts total control over all executive agencies. Criticizing O'Malley for pushing the limits of his power to improve operations is pretty silly in this political environment. And most of the procedures hobbling SSA operations are not mandated by the federal statute--they are self-imposed regulatory non-sense that a Commissioner is fully within their right to revise. People who believe in effective governance and accessible public service, should want dramatic reforms.
This happens every year. Congress mandates that a certain number of CDRs be conducted. Once that number is reached. SSA forbids any more to be done that fiscal year. This has been done in all administrations. When the new fiscal year begins we are not allowed to move the cases out right away either
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