If you're a Social Security employee who thinks this is great, remember that there is little efficiency gained here. You'll feel less harried mainly because workloads are reduced by discouraging the public from doing business with Social Security in the first place and by extending time frames for service out potentially by months. There is a significant percentage of the population who aren't capable of jumping through even a few hoops. They'll wait in your waiting room to see someone but they won't call repeatedly trying to make an appointment only to get frustrated after 30 minutes or more and hang up. Yes, you can go to the field office and make an appointment there to come back in a month or two but many people won't keep that appointment. They've got problems that keep them from working and from keeping appointments. That's frustrating but those people are a significant percentage of the population the agency is supposed to be serving.
Imagine this. Your Social Security checks suddenly end. Your Medicare is terminated. All of your bank accounts and credit cards are frozen. You have no way of paying your bills or even buying food. Someone tells you that the problem is that you're been declared dead. You have no idea who decided you were dead After a month of desperation, someone tells you that the problem is at Social Security. You immediately go down to the local Social Security field office hoping for a quick resolution of the problem but all that happens is that you have to make an appointment two months out into the future. How would you feel?
I would feel that my congresspeople need to give the agency enough funding to conduct its business. But I guess I’m in the minority as that goes.
ReplyDeleteI do not believe for one minute that this is about funding. This is about discouraging people from utilizing the services of an agency that suffers from mismanagement at the highest level. This is akin to "I'm from the government and I'm here to help" lore! Where is the LSA and SPLC on this? Why are homeless, displaced, domestic abuse victims being targeted? Many do not have transportation to and from the office in the first place and have to beg and borrow to get there. Many are not business savvy and would not work through issues involved with scheduling an appointment and then scanning a QR code to check in. At the very least, this should be considered a civil rights breach. The SCT should have a look at this barrier to justice.
DeleteThat old adage has long ago been replaced by the accurate “I have a business degree and I can save taxpayers so much money!”
Delete@3:06: You’re deluded. Mismanagement may play a role, too. But this is a problem of staffing, which is at an all time low relative to people in need of service, and that is a direct result of the failure of your Congress to give the agency the funds it so badly needs.
DeleteAlso, doing what virtually every other government agency in the US has done in response is a civil or human rights violation? Thanks for that laugh!
This is a great and much needed change. Will give us a lot of relief. Three cheers for O’Malley!
ReplyDelete>Your Social Security checks suddenly end. Your Medicare is terminated. All of your bank accounts and credit cards are frozen. You have no way of paying your bills or even buying food. Someone tells you that the problem is that you're been declared dead. You have no idea who decided you were dead After a month of desperation, someone tells you that the problem is at Social Security.
ReplyDeleteYou do realize that all of these would be what is considered a "dire need" situation, right?
>You immediately go down to the local Social Security field office hoping for a quick resolution of the problem
LOL most of these issues would probably need sent to PC to be fixed, which would NOT be a quick resolution anyways.
It is Appointment Focused not Appointment only. The business model framework document says we don’t turn people away. We are offering appointments and will prioritize the appointment when they come in. We are turning into a family medicine and urgent care in the same lobby.
ReplyDeleteNo way to stop this gutted future under an incoming M.A.G.A administration. Only one way to restore SSA future,pray for a severe recession. A recession may stop the trump administration's doom day plans for SSA and the american people.
ReplyDeleteFriendly reminder this is O’Malley and under Joe Biden, who is still President.
DeleteSo I’ve seen the flyer too and I think we knew this was coming for enumeration, but where is everyone getting the info that ALL wall in service is ending?
ReplyDeleteDirectly out of the mouth of Martin O’Malley.
DeleteIf you need in person help "you must" make an appointment.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how the teleservice centers are going to handle the flood of calls to schedule appointments. And I wonder what will happen when people call the TSC to make an appointment but the calendars for most field offices are full...if I recall correctly, the TSCs can only schedule 6-8 weeks out. I also imagine a lot of bad behavior when people show up (in some cases after a lengthy trip) and are told that their only option is to make an appointment and come back in a few months. Some FOs will probably handle this by treating the people who are freaking out as dire need and serving them; others will use security to expel and ban folks from FOs.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you need to call your Congressmen and tell them to fund the agency. Or shut up and enjoy what your fellow countrymen voted for.
DeleteI agree with you up to the point that you said many people won't keep an appointment. In my experience, both claims appointments and p/e ones are kept. There are some who won't keep them but apparently SSA isn't the only dealing with that. I get 2-3 texts from my dentist's office after I schedule an appointment, about a week ahead of time and a day or two ahead of time, reminding me to keep that appointment.
ReplyDeleteEven if Congress gave SSA all the money they wanted to hire people the service will be subpar for a year or two until the new hires are up to speed somewhat. The overwhelming work is a big factor in not retaining new hires.
This is one of the worst things to happen to this once proud Agency, something I would expect from the incoming Administration. Many people will be disenfranchised because they have no internet and no reliable phone serve or permanent address. In 25 years we we went from world class customer service to no customer service. Sad, sad day.
ReplyDeletePathetic. Despite record high wealth and an all-time high GDP with consistent year-over-year growth, we’ve let rich goofs like Elon Musk convince us that there just isn’t enough money out there to pay for a functioning federal government anymore. This service cut was a predictable and inevitable consequence of our willingness to buy into that austerity bulls**t.
DeleteWho said this was the incoming administration’s decision?
Delete"a functioning federal government?" Really? Where is that government? Certainly not in this country.
Delete@5:09: No one said that. They said it resembles something they would expect from the incoming administration. This shouldn’t be a difficult distinction to spot.
DeleteWhen does this happen? SSI recipients can't even change their phone number online, let alone their address.
ReplyDeleteThe DMV does this without incident, and in fact, with greater efficiency and improved customer satisfaction. Somehow we're all still intact.
ReplyDeleteSSA has officially hit rock bottom. You are comparing the DMV to SSA says it all! Well done.
DeleteAs far as I know, I’m pretty sure the IRS field office/tax centers operate like this as well.
DeleteAs long as they have an "urgent need" clause so someone can walk in and get their payments reinstated if something goes haywire. They need to let people in without an appointment if it's urgent. Sitting in front of someone, eye-to-eye is the best way to make sure things are done RIGHT.
DeleteNot seeing a word of this in any outside media yet. Don't think the public is going to like this. This needs to be publicized. This agency is nothing but a rationing agency now. Also, another obvious, the donor class is getting what it wants from both of our political parties now. I'm sure full court press for privatization is coming very soon. NOSSCR and all national organizations for the disabled need to raise hell!
ReplyDeleteappointment for service has been at state DMV where i live for 10+ years. They still take walk-ins, but be prepared to wait several hours while you watch the people with appointments walk in and out.
ReplyDeleteText reminders, I have advocated for this for many years. Everyone else we interact with sends text reminders for appointments...doctors, plumbers, dentists, schools. The fact that SSA doesn't do this is a joke.
We do that already via emailer. The day before we send a text to all the apts to remind them of their appointment. We have seen a large decrease in no shows as a result.
DeleteWe are a small office so we will a lot of discretion about setting up apts. there are cases when it is faster to take the damn claim than to schedule something.
No need to assume which administration initiated this. It has been in the works for years and years. Name an agency that allows a free-flow of people through their doors. Or really most any other state or local public-facing office. This is a much-needed change, even though there will be growing pains. All bets are off on anything once/if we lose O’Malley anyways.
ReplyDeleteComing soon … less employees
ReplyDeleteMaking It Easier to Fire Federal Workers
Under President Trump, executive orders addressed how long federal workers have to improve their performance after receiving a bad review. The time to improve was reduced from 120 days to 30 days.
Agencies were encouraged to remove (fire) poor performers rather than suspending them.
Coming soon: wasting hundreds of millions of dollars re-hiring staff for the same jobs over and over due to a childlike inability to grasp that certain jobs take more than 30 days to achieve proficiency at.
DeleteIt's a bargaining chip. COSS delayed his appearance before Congress until the 20th to produce this visual aid.
DeleteHe'll waive this flyer in front of Congress yelling "see, this is what you made me do" because he didn't get his $1B budget request. He'll hold up his tin cup in his other hand.
Meanwhile, Congress is busy investigating Bigfoot and UFO's while we work under the CR with no budget.
How does SSA propose that it will provide accessible services to homeless, mentally ill citizens with no phones or internet access? That flyer should be amended to prominently describe accessible options for the vulnerable populations that SSA serves.
ReplyDeleteThis policy change will cause a lot of people with limited phone and internet access to miss deadlines. What a mess that will create.
DeleteThey (SSA management) don’t care. They haven’t cared about that for over 10 years - when MySSA first came out.
DeleteRural Field Offices raised concerns about forcing the public to sign up for MySSA in areas where high speed Internet wasn’t easily available, affordable for people on fixed incomes, or easy to set up for elderly/disabled.
The response from management was “everyone has someone who can help them with the internet or they can go to a library; if they won’t do that - they’re just lazy.”
Dear Colleague letter on this: https://www.ssa.gov/news/advocates/2024/#2024-11-13
ReplyDeleteThis is Kafkaesque. Phone SSA to make an appointment? Genuine question: HOW?????
ReplyDeleteI've phoned for a week and a half without anyone picking up at the national number. Waited on hold for 5+ hours days on end. I tried phoning absolutely first thing in the morning and selecting "call me back" multiple days... no call backs. Ever.
I submitted a tech support issue via the form ("are your callback and phone systems broken?")... and received an email that I should call the national number for assistance.
How are you supposed to make an appointment by phone to be seen in person if no one can answer the phones?
All this while listening to SSA "on hold" music with pounding drums for 1.5 weeks with an awful headache. Disability means chronic pain... are they trying to make us insane as well?
You do have to call during operating hours.
DeleteAny clue how soon this is going to take effect? From a Legal Aid perspective this is a massive blow to providing public benefits services and it would be helpful if we need to start preparing now or later.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely now.
DeleteOnce again ASS backwards is unclear. In the same letter it states that appointments are required but then states:
ReplyDeleteWe want to make clear that we will not turn people away for service who are unable to make an appointment or do not want to make an appointment. For example, members of vulnerable populations, military personnel, people with terminal illnesses, and individuals with other situations requiring immediate or specialized attention may still walk in for service at our field offices. Some of our offices also have minimal to no wait times, and they will still serve customers who walk in.
I'm shocked!
I personally am going to print a copy of the letter so the rent a cop does not try to keep me out.
I'm more productive working from home. Having the office swamped with walk-ins would increase pressure for RTO. Then things would be worse overall.
ReplyDeleteAre you serious? Telework is gone in the new administration.
DeleteThe walk-in ban will be short lived since Republicans will have control of all three branches of government next year.
ReplyDeleteYeah. Because they really care whether the poor, elderly and infirm are able to get in-person service. They care so much, in fact, that they have closed numerous post offices and polling places during the past decade, leaving many having to drive an hour or more to access those things.
DeleteWake the heck up!
This commenter is correct. They're going to use this as an angry tipping point for full RTO. Not because the Repubs "care," but to stick it to the employees. Good way to reduce even more staffing without having to directly fire anyone. In the end, no one wins. Overworked employees in the office unable to balance walk-ins. No such thing as a "quick resolution" at SSA.
DeleteYeah, thinking back to when Saul nixed telework for operations, this is my prediction for the new administration: 1) no more telework, especially for field offices; 2) full focus on in-person encounters; 3) no time for employees to do anything else; and 4) the employees get blamed for the resulting backlogs. It's all about the illusion of public service with no efficiency and no compassion for those we serve.
DeleteWhy do people always think accessibility equates to efficiency? You can always access SSA services walking in to the local office, it may not be the most efficient use of your time.
ReplyDelete