Budget Picture -- Bad, But Not As Bad As I Thought

An informed source tells me that I was not reading the continuing resolution accurately, or, perhaps, that it is much more complicated than I thought. I will quote from an e-mail I received from this informed source:

A few hints on what you need to look at. The number quoted on page 78 does not include the SSI user fee which is around 117 million. See the SSA appendix. Also there will probably be around another 40 million for SSA salaries and benefits (see page 8 and 9 of CR). Total will be very close to what House approps recommended. This is why Obey's office could put this out:

"...Most programs are funded at FY 2006 levels with increases to cover the cost of pay increases. Necessary additions are made to maintain staffing levels, avoid furloughs, and generally meet increased costs or workloads for agencies most notably: the Department of Justice, the Judiciary, the Social Security Administration, the FAA (including air traffic control), International peacekeeping operations, the Indian Health Service, the Food & Drug Administration, and the USDA Food Safety Inspection Service.

http://appropriations.house.gov/News/pr_070129.shtml

The House amount is right on the line of missing a furlough but leave SSA with a virtual hiring freeze this year which will still be very hard on the Agency.

Budget News Is Bad

The chairmen of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees have released their proposed continuing funding resolution for fiscal year 2007. Hidden inside this lengthy document is §20645(a), which calls for a Social Security budget of $9.137 billion. The President's budget for FY 2007 had called for a $9.496 billion budget for Social Security's administrative operations. Even that much higher budget would have resulted in a loss of 2,545 full time staff positions. The actual FY 2006 budget was $9.109 billion, as best I can tell, which would indicate only a 1% increase for FY 2007 over FY 2006. The FY 2006 level was the funding level provided in the last continuing funding resolution and that was predicted to require furloughing all Social Security employees for 10 days. Is $28 million more enough to prevent employee furloughs at Social Security? Certainly, it is not enough to prevent significant further deterioration in service at Social Security. There may be efforts made to amend this continuing resolution, either in committee or on the floor of the Senate. Everything must all happen rapidly, since the current continuing funding resolution runs out on February 15.

Public Radio On Social Security Backlogs

Public radio's Marketplace show reported on January 29 on Social Security's incredible backlogs in adjudicating disability claims. Listen to the report on-line. Former Commissioner Jo Anne Barnhart spoke to the reporter.

Astrue Nomination Committee Vote On January 31

The Senate Finance Committee has scheduled an executive session for January 31 to get organized, which presumably means making subcommittee assignments. The Committee has scheduled a few small items of business to be decided at the same executive session and the nomination of Michael Astrue to become the next Commissioner of Social Security is one of them. After the Finance Committee acts, the matter goes to the Senate floor.

New Funding Resolution Draft Coming Tonight -- Will SSA Avoid Furloughs?

Today's Wall Street Journal reports that Congressional leaders will release a draft continuing funding resolution tonight. Almost all of the federal government, including Social Security, is operating under a continuing funding resolution, rather than a budget. The current continuing funding resolution will expire on February 15. Congressional leaders have announced their intention to use a continuing funding resolution for the rest of the year, based largely upon the one which will expire on February 15. If unchanged, this continuing funding resolution would probably cause employee furloughs at Social Security. The question is whether Social Security will get additional money.

Developmental Delay Grant Available

From today's Federal Register -- and, yes, this was posted by the Social Security Administration:

The Social Security Administration requests applications for cooperative agreement funding to support projects that will design and implement effective, replicable, and sustainable models which will increase the number of children (birth to age 5) who receive developmental screening and improve the early identification of children with developmental delays and/or disabilities.

This grant may or may not be a good idea, but why is it coming from the Social Security Administration? Was this a Congressional earmark? I hate to beat a dead horse, but when Social Security cannot answer its telephones and it is routinely taking a year and a half and more for Social Security to schedule hearings for sick, desperately poor Social Security disability claimants, most of whom will be awarded benefits by Administrative Law Judges, does it make any sense for Social Security to spend money on something that is so far away from the agency's core function that it sounds like a project for the National Institutes of Health, if anyone?

New Commission Proposed

Medical News Today reports on a new proposal in Congress:

Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) on Monday introduced a bill to establish a permanent, bipartisan commission that would provide recommendations to maintain the future solvency of Medicare and Social Security, CQ Today reports (Wayne/George, CQ Today, 1/22). The 15-member commission -- which would include seven Republicans, seven Democrats and one independent -- would have to provide recommendations to Congress within one year and subsequently every five years. Under the legislation, the recommendations would have to be reported by House and Senate committees within 60 days or be directly discharged to the House or Senate floor.

Unum Sells Genex

The Associated Press reports that UnumProvident, the nation's largest writer of long term disability (LTD) insurance, has sold Genex, a subsidiary, to a private equity firm. Genex has been involved in case management and medical cost containment in LTD and workers compensation. The case management services have included representing disability claimants before the Social Security Administration. Writers of LTD insurance have a huge interest in obtaining Social Security disability benefits for their insureds since LTD policies offset the Social Security disability benefits. UnumProvident reported only a "small net gain" on the sale.

The sale might free Genex to seek the business of individual Social Security disability claimants who need representation, basically entering the retail market for Social Security representation, rather than relying upon the wholesale business provided by LTD carriers, although there is no sign of such an intent or that Genex could be successful in this should they chose to try it. The sale certainly opens the possibility for dramatic change in the market for LTD carrier representation in Social Security disability claims.