Social Security Starting To Look For Updated Occupational Data

One of the major bases for disability determination at Social Security is the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT). There is just one little problem with the DOT. It is terribly out of date, meaning that there is a terrible flaw in disability determination at Social Security. I know, someone in an office in D.C. is reading this and thinking, "What are you talking about? Disability determination is medical. What does occupational data have to do with it?" Trust me. Occupational data is important in disability determination. To be disabled for Social Security purposes you have to be unable to do not only the work you have done in the past, but other work. How do we know whether there is other work that a person can do despite their physical or mental impairments? We look at occupational data. If that occupational data is out of date -- and not just by a little bit, but by about 20 years, the whole disability determination process is dubious.

What to do about the DOT problem? For a very long time, Social Security has looked the other way and just hoped no one would notice the problem, but people are noticing. The ground underfoot is starting to feel pretty shaky and Social Security is casting about for a solution.

I do not think this is going to come close to being a solution, but the Social Security Administration just posted this "presolicitation" notice on FedBizOpps.Gov:

The Social Security Administration (SSA) has a need to acquire occupational information based on the Department of Labor’s Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT), 4th edition. This DOT-based information will be evaluated in order to determine whether the data can be used in SSA’s disability evaluation process in terms of current SSA disability guidelines. ... SSA anticipates awarding one or more firm-fixed price type contract(s) for this effort. The period of performance is anticipated to be for nine months in duration. The solicitation will be issued as a small business set-aside. It is anticipated that the Request for Quote (RFQ) will be issued on or about June 23, 2008. The selection decision will be on a low-priced, technically acceptable basis. ...

Pressure For More ALJs in NY

From a press release issued by Senator Clinton (emphasis added):

With a massive backlog of pending disability cases continuing to build in Buffalo’s Social Security hearing office and other offices across New York State, U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Hillary Rodham Clinton today demanded that the Social Security Administration (SSA) revamp their efforts to reduce case backlog. SSA recently announced that they hired 135 new Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) to help ease the burden so many offices across the country are feeling. However, only ten of these new hires were assigned to New York hearing offices, despite the fact that New York residents wait on average a year before they even receive an initial hearing of their case and almost two years before their cases are fully processed. Of the nine New York State hearing offices, only four were offered new staff. ...

Today, in response to the weak arguments involving office space and the disappointing allocation of new hires to New York SSA hearing offices, Schumer and Clinton wrote to Commissioner Astrue, demanding a detailed explanation of the allocation process and how the SSA assignments would help reduce backlog in New York. The senators also urged SSA to reconsider their current allocation plan so additional placements could be made the high-traffic New York hearing offices as soon as possible.

“It is beyond unacceptable that we have Buffalo residents waiting over a year or more for SSA to process their disability cases,” said Senator Schumer.

If Obama is elected and Astrue decides to hang on, he is going to end up feeling like a punching bag.

State Of Social Security Budget For FY 2009

From the Capitol Insider put out by the Disability Policy Collaboration:

The House and Senate passed the Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for Fiscal Year 2009 that provides $10.7 billion for the Social Security Administration’s administrative expenses. This amount is $240 million above the President’s request. The additional resources are provided “to address the serious backlog of disability claims and hearings, as well as other backlog workloads for which additional resources are needed.” The conference agreement also rejects the President’s private account proposal for Social Security. The additional amount can be realized only if the Congress actually appropriates the funds through the FY 2009 L-HHS-Ed appropriations bill or a FY 2009 Continuing Resolution.

On June 6, fifty-two Senators signed a letter to Senators Harkin (D-IA) and Specter (R-PA), Chairman and Ranking Member, respectively, of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies, supporting an appropriation of $240 million more than the President requested for the Social Security Administration’s administrative expenses. The letter cited the major delays in holding hearings on disability claims and SSA’s inability to process other important workloads.

By the way, you do not have to rely upon me for access to the Capitol Insider. Subscription is free.

House Appropriations Committee Schedules Markup On Social Security Budget

The Labor-HHS Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee has scheduled a markup session for June 19. This subcommittee has jurisdiction over Social Security's administrative budget or "Limitation on Administrative Expenditures" (LAE). The full Committee markup session is set for June 25. This concerns the budget for fiscal year (FY) 2009, which begins on October 1, 2008.

It is quite unlikely that Congress and the White House will be able to agree upon a budget while President Bush remains in office. The agency is likely to be operating on a continuing funding resolution until February or March of 2009. Still, the process going on now is likely to determine to some extent what is finally adopted next year. It sounds a bit hazy, but it is important.

Treasury Promotes Social Security Debit Cards

Both USA Today and the Washington Post are running articles promoting the use of debit cards for receiving Social Security benefits. The articles appear to have been sparked by the Department of the Treasury and are aimed at Social Security recipients who lack a bank account.

Presidential Poll

Free Web poll for your Web site - freepolls.com

New Regulatory Proposal On Hearings

Below is a description of a regulatory proposal that the Social Security Administration has filed with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). OMB approval is required before this may be published in the Federal Register as a Notice of Proposed Rule-Making (NPRM).

We propose to amend several regulations and provide new regulatory language to address inefficiencies in the hearings process. The amendments include provisions clarifying that claims denied by state Disability Determination Services and other adjudicators for “failure to cooperate” are technical denials rather than medical determinations, and providing flexibility in setting the time and place of hearings. We also intend to propose new regulatory provisions that will allow ALJs to dismiss a request for a hearing where a claimant has abandoned his or her claim and to specify regulatory standards that require ALJs to clearly articulate their rationale when issuing decisions on remanded claims.

An Idea From Japan

From Kyodo News:

Japan should consider hiking the tobacco tax to cover the ballooning social security costs that are accompanying the rapid aging of society, economic and fiscal policy minister Hiroko Ota said Friday. ...

Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura said Thursday raising the tobacco tax is an "interesting idea."

But he also said a sharp increase could prove fatal to thousands of Japanese tobacco farmers and the matter should be taken up by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's tax panel.

Machimura also said he realizes the tobacco tax hike is being proposed also as a measure to curb smoking in Japan and reduce the related health problems.

NC Man Charged

From WSOC in Charlotte, NC:

A 46-year-old Denver [NC] man is accused by authorities of continuing to receive his parents' Social Security checks years after they died. Lincoln County Sheriff's Office Detective Lt. Hal Kluttz said in a statement that Timothy Mark Camp continued to receive the payments over a six-year period between 2000 and 2006 after his parents died. Kluttz said the checks totaled more than $41,000.

Social Security Bulletin Released

The Social Security Administration has released the most recent issue of the Social Security Bulletin, a scholarly journal mostly devoted to statistical research papers.