From a recent update to Social Security’s POMS manual:
The DDS [Disability Determination Services] has always had jurisdiction for getting consultative examination on Railroad (RR) claims. Due to fiscal processing limitations, the Federal Disability Determination Division Chicago (FDDD) is no longer able to pay for MER requests for RRB Dual Eligibility (D/E) claims. As a result, we need to reach out to the local DDS via an assistance request for that DDS to request and pay for MER. When using our prior legacy system we only reached out to the local DDS to request and pay for CEs. This process and POMS update only applies to RRB D/E claims. The local DDS does not adjudicate the claim …
Make DDS pay? They’re not exactly rolling in dough themselves. Where I am DDS is already struggling to come up with enough money to pay for medical development in cases over which it has jurisdiction.
4 comments:
By law, SSA funds the entire DDS operation anyway, so no financial burden is falling on DDS. Not sure what the issue is but it’s not a budget issue.
That assumes SSA has no budget issues. You are either ignorant, disingenuous, or, most likely, MAGA.
DDSs take point on CE ordering and payment for the federal disability processing units they are partnered with this is nothing new and the DDS is properly compensated for all CE related costs no matter who initiated the CE this is a non-issue.
The budget is one aspect, a very real and larger problem is that the volume of work for MER requests DDSs now process for OHO is additional work for DDSs who have received no additional staff to support this work. Adding RBR will be additional work tasks (ordering, mail processing, fiscal processing, etc) for DDS staff. More work + less people = longer wait time for people applying for disability benefits to receive a decision. That is discouraging for DDS staff who care deeply about the work and people they serve along with the SSA staff in FOs and the SSA staff who have stayed and continue to press on as best they are able. SSA does not allow DDSs to backfill positions so when staff retire, move or leave the same amount of work remains to be completed with less DDS staff available to support. The list of additional work/workarounds being piled on the DDSs to complete without adequate resources gets longer and longer.
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