Fourth Volume Of Caro's Biography Of LBJ Due Out In May 2012

Lyndon Johnson is a major figure in Social Security history -- probably the most important figure apart from Roosevelt. Under his presidency:

• Medicare was added to the Social Security Act. Social Security was responsible for the initial implementation of Medicare.
• Social Security was added to the unified federal budget setting the stage for the administrative funding problems that the agency has had in recent years. 
• The definition of disability was changed in 1965 so that there is only a one year duration requirement. Previously, there had been essentially a requirement of permanency. 
• The definition of disability was also changed in other ways quite unfavorable to claimants in 1967.
• The worker's compensation offset was added.
• Disabled widows benefits were added.

     I think the best three non-fiction books I have read in the last 25 years have been The Path to Power, Means of Ascent and Master of the Senate, the first three volumes of Robert Caro's monumental biography of LBJ. I am thrilled that the the fourth volume, The Passage to Power, is due out on May 1, 2012. If you have never delved into this series, you have a treat awaiting you. Johnson was both appalling and admirable but always fascinating. I hesitate to say this but Johnson may have been even more interesting a person than Lincoln and that is saying a lot! Think that Johnson's time as a Congressional aide couldn't have been interesting? Think again. It was unbelievable. Caro is an extraordinary biographer with an inscredible subject. This volume will deal with Johnson's time in office and all those major Social Security decisions

     It does not matter what your political views are. You do not have to be a person who is ordinarily interested in history or biography. These books are a hell of a read.

Grand Jury Investigation in West Virginia

     The Wall Street Journal is reporting that a federal grand jury is investigating whether former Social Security Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) David Daughtry received improper payments in exchange for awarding disability benefits. According to the report, Social Security's Inspector General is looking into a "series" of ALJs who award benefits in a high number of cases.
     Daughtry awarded benefits to virtually every claimant whose case he heard. Certainly, this would have included the cases of at least several attorneys and a fair number of unrepresented claimants.  I don't recommend any sort of bribery but why would someone even be tempted to bribe an ALJ to approve a disability claim if the ALJ would approve the claim even without being bribed? Why use a sledgehammer to break down a door that is not only unlocked but which is standing wide open? Of course, these is a suggestion that there was some funny business about the assignment of cases to ALJs in that office and there could be impropriety there. Still, count me as skeptical that they will ever come up with evidence of any serious criminal offense here. Social Security has a long list of problems but corruption is very, very low on that list.

     One interesting aspect of the report is that the Wall Street Journal has used the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to obtain a list of total fees paid in 2010 to attorneys who represent Social Security claimants. One attorney that ALJ Daughtry dealt with, Eric Conn, ranked third in the nation on this list with fees of $3.8 million. Presumably, the Wall Street Journal will release more of this list in the future.

Happy Thanksgiving

And let me once again give a link to Art Buchwald's classic explanation of Le jour de Merci Donnant.

Like Déjà Vu

     From WBAL-TV in Baltimore:

Delays in Social Security disability benefit payouts have left many Marylanders with questions -- and without money. ...

A WBAL-TV 11 News I-Team investigation in September evoked both anger and frustration from viewers regarding a long application process, long wait and, in some cases, denial....

One week after the I-Team intervened, Social Security approved Davis' application and deposited $59,391 of back pay into his bank account....

Among those who contacted the I-Team included Jeffrey Smith, of Parkville, who suffers from Crohn's disease complicated by type 1 diabetes. The illness ended his 26-year career in retail.

Waiting 2½ years for Social Security disability benefits sent him into bankruptcy and put his home in jeopardy....

When the I-Team checked on the status of Smith's case, it was like déjà vu, Weiner said. Pay day came soon after the I-Team's call to Social Security.

"He contacted me at 3:30 on Monday, and at 1:15 Wednesday morning, the check was direct deposited -- $36,000," Smith said. ...

Physicians who had worked at Social Security's campus in Woodlawn, evaluating new claims from across the country, said they also had a story to tell.

Dr. Neil Novin, a surgeon for more than 40 years, was one of dozens of doctors working part-time reviewing disability claims -- until Social Security fired him. ... 

"Americans who are applying for disability insurance are not getting a fair shake anymore," Novin said. Social Security called that claim "baseless."

Novin said Social Security fired him for opposing pay and policy changes, which meant doctors were no longer assigned cases based on their area of expertise."When cardiologists are evaluating people with back problems and orthopedic surgeons are evaluating people with hearing problems, that ain't kosher," Novin said. "You've been paying Social Security dues for all your life, and if you have an injury, you're entitled to it. You ought to get it and the decision should be by people who are knowledgeable."Dr. Francis Clark, an orthopedic surgeon who also worked part-time at Social Security, said he was among a handful of doctors who quit. When asked what the general sense is among the doctors who left, Clark said, "frustration."

House Social Security Subcommittee Schedules Hearing

     From a press release:

U.S. Congressman Sam Johnson (R-TX), Chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Security, today announced a hearing series on Securing the Future of the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) Program.  The first hearing of the series will focus on the history of the disability insurance program, the income security it provides and its financing challenges.  The hearing will take place on Friday, December 2, 2011, in B-318 Rayburn House Office Building, beginning at 9:00 a.m. ...

In announcing the hearing series, Social Security Subcommittee Chairman Sam Johnson (R-TX) said, “Disabilities have a devastating effect on individuals and their families, and Social Security Disability Insurance benefits provide important income security that they rely on.  Yet in just seven years the disability program will be unable to pay full benefits unless changes to the law are made.  Through this hearing series the Subcommittee will lead a much-needed conversation about the challenges facing this vital program and solutions that can meet the needs of those with disabilities and the workers who support the program through their hard-earned tax dollars.” 

Quiz Answer

Question: Which of the following actions by the Social Security Administration is NOT an initial determination subject to appeal?

Possible Answers:

• Determination that a representative payee is required for a person not already declared legally incompetent
• Citizenship determination
• Determination of marital relationship
• Denial of request to reopen prior determination

Correct answer:  Denial of request to reopen prior determination

But This Costs Money And More Money Is Out Of The Question

From the Huffington Post:

Fourteen Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee want more scrutiny of how the Social Security Administration oversees benefit checks sent to disabled adults and minors to make sure the money does not fall into the hands of predators.

A recent Philadelphia case found that a woman accused of locking mentally disabled people in a squalid basement was able to cash their benefit checks without being discovered by authorities.

Quiz

Free Web poll for your Web site - freepolls.com

Major WSJ Article

There is a major article on Social Security's disability program in today's Wall Street Journal.

Recessions And Disability Claims

     From the Social Security Bulletin:

We use data from Social Security administrative records to examine the lifetime patterns of initial entitlement to retired-worker and Disability Insurance (DI) benefits across cohorts born in different years. Breaking out age-at-entitlement patterns for different birth-year cohorts reveals close adherence in entitlement ages to changes in program rules, such as increasing the full retirement age. The proportion of a cohort that becomes newly entitled to DI benefits rises noticeably during recessions and at ages 50 and 55, and cumulative entitlement rate patterns show that more recent cohorts rely increasingly on DI benefits in their late 30s and 40s.

     If you look at the actual data, the correlation between recessions and disability claims seems to be weak to the point of being non-existent. Here's what the study says further on:

To further investigate the effect of the economy and the stance of the DI program regarding new entitlements, we next examine the incidence of new entitlements by year, 1969–2006, for the same cohorts studied above. Chart 8 shows the effect of the 1974–1975 recession, with a modest increase in entitlement rates across all cohorts. The 1980–1982 double-dip recession is notable in that no increase in new entitlements occurred: Those years correspond to restricted allowance rates. However, the 1984 Social Security Amendments relaxed some of the prior restrictions and extended allowances to people with certain mental and musculoskeletal impairments. That legislation not only changed labor market conditions, it likely contributed to increases in new entitlements in the 3–4 years leading up to the recession of 1990–1991. We also see rising entitlements in the years leading up to 2000–2001. The slow pace of the economic recovery following the 2001 recession corresponds with the continued high incidence of new DI entitlements in 2002–2006.

     Basically, the report says that there is an association between recession sand disability claims except when there isn't and that increases in disability claims that come before a recession or after a recession are proof that recessions cause disability claims.
     Overall, what I see here is proof that the number of people approved for Social Security disability benefits depends largely upon the policies followed by Social Security which should surprise no one.