Budget Reconciliation and SSI Back Benefits

According to a report of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities the Budget Reconciliation bill recently passed by the House of Representatives provides that:

... any SSI recipient owed more than three months of back benefits would have to receive these benefits in installments, and the initial installment payment would be made smaller. The first installment would cover only three months of benefits. The second installment paid six months after the first payment would cover no more than another three months of benefits. The final payment made a full year after the individual was found eligible for SSI benefits would cover all remaining amounts owed to the recipient.

The budget reconciliation ball is now in the Senate's court.

New Rules for ALJs

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has issued proposed new rules for Administrative Law Judges (ALJs). Since SSA employs something like 90% of all federal ALJs, this affects SSA far more than any other agency. At first glance this proposal does not look significant. It is unclear whether this proposal puts OPM closer to creating a new register from which SSA and other agencies can select new ALJs. There has been no new register in many years due to a long running dispute over the methods for ranking ALJ candidates on the register. Agencies have had to hire off a very old register. No new applications to become ALJs have been taken in many years.

Conference on Aging Delegates Don't Like Privatization

Were you aware that the White House Conference on Aging has been going on for several days now? It comes up only once every ten years. You would think that it would be a major story, especially in the wake of President Bush's efforts to create private Social Security accounts and the controversy about the Medicare Prescription Drug benefit. The New York Times reports on efforts at the conference to express opposition to privatization and White House efforts to prevent criticism of administration policy. President Bush was the first president to to snub the White House Conference on Aging by refusing to speak at the Conference.

Undocumented Aliens Help Social Security

According to this Kansas City Infozine article Social Security has $519 billion in reported earnings that it cannot match with earnings records and believes much of this is due to undocumented aliens. In addition, there are earnings falsely attributed to existing Social Security numbers assumed by illegal aliens and other earnings attributed to valid Social Security numbers that illegal aliens were able to obtain by some artifice.

Doctors Can Submit Medical Records to SSA Electronically

The American Academy of Family Physicians reports that physicians may now submit medical records electronically to AeDIB, Social Security's paperless electronic disability file of the future. Records may be submitted via an SSA website or by fax. The system as described is essentially the same as the one under development that will allow claimants' attorneys to submit medical evidence electronically.

Bush Has Even Grander Plans for Social Security

According to a Time Magazine article (go to the 4th page):

Once he gets past the midterm elections, Bush plans to introduce a concept that, if anything, is even more ambitious than his failed Social Security plan: a grand overhaul that would include not only that program but Medicare and Medicaid as well.

More on Glenn Sklar Presentation

Kevin Morton gives his take on Glenn Sklar's presentation in Winston-Salem on December 9, 2005.

Disability Backlogs and Inconsistency

Social Security is not the only agency having problems adjudicating disability claims. Here is an excerpt from a Government Accountability Office (GAO) study of disability determination at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) that should sound familiar to those involved in disability determination at SSA.

While VA made progress in fiscal years 2002 and 2003 reducing the size and age of its inventory of pending claims, it has lost ground since the end of fiscal year 2003. For example, pending claims increased by over one-third from the end of fiscal year 2003 to the end of fiscal year 2005. Meanwhile, VA faces continuing questions about its ability to ensure that veterans get consistent decisions across its 57 regional offices.