tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19246708.post8701374334763385941..comments2024-03-29T11:14:10.488-04:00Comments on Social Security News: A Nudge?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19246708.post-58185261896431210872012-08-17T16:38:54.449-04:002012-08-17T16:38:54.449-04:00I absolutely agree with Anonymous at 1:25pm. Not ...I absolutely agree with Anonymous at 1:25pm. Not long ago, we would review cases for OTRs but now? There are no cases to review. They have already been granted by SAA or by the VSU. Once in a blue moon (1 x every couple weeks?) I may review a durational denial. The bottom line is yes, my approval rating used to be higher and now it is lower; but that's only because of the makeup of the cases I get...a lot are simply not disabled. 35,000 SAA decisions definitely have an effect.<br /><br />As to the MI, it's kinda neat, I check it once every few months, but it has no effect on me one way or the other.<br /><br />p.s. I do very detailed reviews of my cases...unlike the ALJs of yesteryear (appointed before 2008). More than half the ALJ corp has been hired since 2008 according to Mr. Sklar.<br /><br />p.p.s. The badges (premiering Monday) will catch some of these old ALJs off guard I would imagine.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19246708.post-13669519598104233822012-08-17T14:46:28.541-04:002012-08-17T14:46:28.541-04:00This site is becoming increasingly nothing but a w...This site is becoming increasingly nothing but a waste of time. Its webmaster/administrator/owner is so utterly biased and subjective that the whole enterprise is reaching a point of no return. Now it's even How MI Doing a tool to deprive "needy" and "deserving" clts (of course, ALL of them) from "justice"?! <br /><br />Sad? Pathetic? No. It's just hopeless.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19246708.post-13739242434297276222012-08-17T08:24:14.172-04:002012-08-17T08:24:14.172-04:00The only thing that "influences" or trie...The only thing that "influences" or tries to influence decisionmaking is the constant demand for production - to move cases out the door - which if the goal were being met, would be in cutting corners and approving as many as possible. This is the opposite of lowering the pay rate. <br /><br />The darling judges of SSA are the ones who have high production numbers, which are always high payers. One judge who boasted over 2000 cases per year, paid over 90%, but he refused / refuses to use a vocational expert, so the paltry ones he denied are now coming back to the hearing offices as remands. When asked about his remand rate, he said he does not look at that. Is that being a good steward of the SS Trust Fund, or of the claimants he considers? I think not.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19246708.post-77772793391850095002012-08-16T16:57:46.997-04:002012-08-16T16:57:46.997-04:003:31, I strongly disagree. ALJs can be aggravated...3:31, I strongly disagree. ALJs can be aggravated by mgmt and the people at the top, but just like you, me, the wall, and everyone else knows, ALJs are completely untouchable. <br /><br />They are going to do just what they want to do, no matter how the agency pushes them. The judges that are using How MI or other metrics to get to the "center" want to be in the center. If it weren't How MI or whatever, they'd be doing it by word of mouth or looking at the bare bones Agency data on pay rates to make sure they were within a standard deviation. Similarly, the old fogeys who want to pay everyone or not pay anyone are going to continue to do so, regardless of what their peers are doing. <br /><br />If you want to argue that any Agency actions are affecting the UF vs. FF of ALJs, the best argument would have to include remand rates and the quality of decision writers. Because I have definitely seen judges adjust their decisions based on how long UFs take to turn around, how a crappy writer can more easily write a FF than a UF (and not be remanded), etc.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19246708.post-53887171794229250262012-08-16T15:31:04.771-04:002012-08-16T15:31:04.771-04:00How is it at all relevant to an ALJ to know how hi...How is it at all relevant to an ALJ to know how his approval/denial rate compares to other ALJs? By sharing this information SSA only has one goal, to bring everyone to the center. This may in fact be a good thing ultimately for the program but on an individual case, which is all any particular claimant cares about (and rightfully so) it could be a very bad thing. Close calls may go against a particular claimant if the ALJ sees he/she is slightly on the high side. Therein is the problem. It becomes a way for SSA to influence the independence of the ALJs. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19246708.post-34325547726383099872012-08-16T15:22:42.171-04:002012-08-16T15:22:42.171-04:00@ 3:19...exactly, the goal of the "training&q...@ 3:19...exactly, the goal of the "training" is to help attorneys and judges draft decisions that are more likely to withstand appeal. It has nothing to do with productivity or FF v. UF. In fact, they go out of their way to make it so. <br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19246708.post-14034014009412162262012-08-16T15:19:17.086-04:002012-08-16T15:19:17.086-04:00“We have created new tools to focus on quality,” B...“We have created new tools to focus on quality,” Borland said. “Each quarter, we train our adjudicators on the most complex, error-prone provisions of law and regulation.”<br /><br />What Borland is talking about is video training once a quarter for all ALJs and decision-writers focusing on areas of a decision, such as evaluating medical source opinions or evaluating credibility, that are often identified as issues in AC remands or Court remands. The training is geared towards producing legally sufficient decisions (i.e., fewer remands), not paying more cases. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19246708.post-22849298089535677772012-08-16T14:17:02.965-04:002012-08-16T14:17:02.965-04:00ALJ approval rates are not going down because of O...ALJ approval rates are not going down because of OTRs being granted at my ODARs. Two years ago, I could get about 50% of cases I though were good OTR candidates disposed of with OTRs. Last year was about 1 in 3; and now it is less than 1 OTR for every 10 requests I make. Pretty much a waste of time. <br /><br />I have had two ALJs ask me why I didn't ask for an OTR in easy cases where the claimant would grid out, and had to respond that we did ask for OTRs several months ago. Oops. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19246708.post-25920227245842198122012-08-16T13:25:01.353-04:002012-08-16T13:25:01.353-04:00The pay rate for ALJs is falling in part because o...The pay rate for ALJs is falling in part because of the increased use of senior attorney adjudicators. If SAAs pay twenty, thirty, forty thousand cases a year, that is twenty, thirty, forty thousand fewer favorable decisions for the ALJs to issue.<br /><br />In my office, the newer ALJs engage in very detailed pre-hearing reviews a week or a couple of weeks before the hearing. The ALJ who does the least review is the one who has been with SSA in various capacities for three decades plus. <br /><br />How MI Doing has no real effect on the ALJs in my opinion. The judges already know who are the high and lower payers in their office. Plus, ALJ data showing total dispositions, FF, UF, and PF cases for every ALJ in the nation has been easily accessible for several years. I doubt most ALJs ever even look at their How MI Doing page.<br /><br />Whether more thorough development helps or hurts is debatable. More information could make a borderline case stronger, but more information allows more opportunities to turn up evidence that contradicts the claimant's allegations or suggests greater functioning. It can work both ways. It will depend on the predisposition of the ALJ -- is he or she inclined to pay a higher number of cases or a low number of cases; does he or she look for evidence to support a pay or does he or she try to weigh the evidence and make the most "fair" outcome.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19246708.post-60756637795331809902012-08-16T10:18:00.337-04:002012-08-16T10:18:00.337-04:00With the virtual screening unit and senior atty re...With the virtual screening unit and senior atty review pulling out OTR's, I send all cases directly to scheduling now. Many reps use the hearing notice as a flag to get updated evidence to a file, so I'm reviewing an updated file. Plus I can order any missing records or a CE post hearing. It saves time with only one review instead of two.<br /><br />HowMIDoing is great. In addtion disposition data, it also allows a judge to see all of his Appeals Council and remand data per case.<br /><br />The commenter sounds like a judge who still pines for the days of paper files.<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19246708.post-84003352344900133462012-08-16T09:51:01.216-04:002012-08-16T09:51:01.216-04:00It's called "How MI Doing," with &qu...It's called "How MI Doing," with "MI" standing for management information. I'm an attorney and haven't seen the ALJ version, but the one for writers is benign. It tracks your output by week, month, and fiscal year compared to your office, region, and ODAR-wide. If you hover over the year-to-date graph bars, it shows how many of each type of case you've written (UF, FF, PF).<br /><br />I understand your worry that these processes may push people to the mean and thus make some judges pay less than they might otherwise. But what about that same effect on judges that might pay less but now pay more? While your concern is valid that on the micro--a particular ALJ may feel pressure to decide a certain claim unfavorably or favorably--I really don't give it much weight. The effect would be much more macro, making each ALJ aware of the mean and pressuring each to move towards it generally, not case by case.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19246708.post-286615034915084152012-08-16T09:38:10.802-04:002012-08-16T09:38:10.802-04:00How am I Doing is available...my guess, most judge...How am I Doing is available...my guess, most judges have NO IDEA how to access it. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19246708.post-60804427554243192852012-08-16T09:09:51.256-04:002012-08-16T09:09:51.256-04:00The "How am I doing" link is the best th...The "How am I doing" link is the best thing ever. I like to compare what I'm doing compared to others. Does it influence my work output? To some extent. But I dont think it has much effect on decision outcomes.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com