ACUS Wants To Help

From a Request for Proposals issued by the Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS):

The study should particularly address the following issues: ...

• The impact of SSA’s treating physician rules on the role of courts in reviewing SSA disability decisions. The study should consider measures that SSA could take to reduce the number of cases remanded to it by courts.
• The role of the SSA Appeals Council in reviewing cases to reduce any observed variances in ALJ’s decisional outcomes, hearing lengths, and application of agency policies. Legal and empirical consideration should be given to the efficacy of an expansion of the Appeals Council’s already existing authority to conduct more focused reviews of ALJ decisions; how the Appeals Council can select cases for review; when review should take place (i.e. pre- or post-effectuation); and the scope and manner of review. 
• Additional measures that SSA could take to identify and address issues posed by “outlier” ALJs, in order to reduce the observed variances, and to reduce other irregularities and improve quality in ALJ decisions. ... 

The Conference will provide a consulting fee of $15,000 for the study plus a budget for expenses.

More Own Motion Review Coming?

     Social Security has recently formed the Division of Quality in the Office of Appellate Operations. The Division of Quality appears to have been created to select Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) decisions  to be reviewed and overturned by the Appeals Council, a process called "Own Motion Review." Own Motion Review is nothing new. It has been around for decades. The Appeals Council has always insisted that some ALJ decisions that denied disability claims are reviewed but it has always been clear that  vastly more decisions allowing claims are reviewed than decisions denying claims.
     Forming the Division of Quality may be of considerable importance or nothing of consequence. It all depends upon the resources devoted to the Own Motion Reviews.

     I may be paranoid but I have to wonder whether this is related to the recent Wall Street Journal stories about an ALJ in West Virginia who was approving almost all of the disability claims he reviewed. I also have to wonder whether the recent Ruling that will make it almost impossible to file an appeal from an ALJ decision and file a new disability claim at the same time is connected to this. That Ruling will discourage requests for Appeals Council review which will free up more staff time at the Appeals Council which could be used to clear off the huge backlogs at the Appeals Council or which could be used to do far more Own Motion Reviews.