Lying To SSA Not A Good Idea

From the Cedar Rapids Gazette:

Connie L. Morris, 43, of Waterloo, was sentenced Friday in federal court in Cedar Rapids to ten months in prison for lying to the Social Security Administration.

Morris, when she pled guilty to the charge on Dec. 11, admitted she lied about whether she was married and her living arrangements when she applied for Supplemental Security Income benefits. She received more than $29,000 she wasn't entitled to.

Now she must serve the prison sentence, pay back the money and serve three years of supervised release.

Fraud By Strip Club Owner

From the State Journal of West Virginia:

Timothy Ray Cline once owned three Southern Exposure bars, including locations in Princeton and Bradley.

Tuesday, Cline pleaded guilty in federal court to tax evasion and social security fraud.

Cline was accused of failing to report over $50,000 in income from 2001.

Cline also collected more than $35,000 in Social Security Disability from September 1991 to March 2003.

SSA Recognizes Same-Sex Marriage Name Change

From a Social Security Regional Council memorandum posted in Social Security's Program Operations Manual Series (POMS):

You asked us to determine whether an individual who enters into a civil union in the State of New Jersey may legally change his or her name based solely upon the civil union event or whether a court order is required to effectuate the proposed name change. Recently enacted New Jersey legislation legalizing civil unions specifically allows for the right to change surnames based upon a civil union event without a court order. Accordingly, an individual who enters a civil union in the State of New Jersey may legally change his or her name without a court order.

One Republican Senator Asks For Hearing Speedup

The Raleigh News and Observer reports that Senator Elizabeth Dole (R-NC) has written the Commissioner of Social Security:

"Those appealing a denial of Social Security disability benefits are experiencing outrageously long delays in the scheduling of hearings at the Offices of Disability Adjudication and Review," Dole wrote to Social Security Commissioner Michael J. Astrue. "North Carolinians appealing a denial must in many cases wait nearly two years, and individuals who are ultimately granted benefits on appeal suffer substantial financial, emotional and even physical hardships during this delay.

"This situation concerns me deeply and is clearly unacceptable."

One View Of Social Security Disability Benefits

From an op ed piece by Melanie Scarborough (no e-mail address given) in the Washington, D.C. Examiner:

Most Americans probably assume that to qualify as “disabled,” an individual must be physically unable to work for a living. In fact, the Social Security Administration deems individuals disabled if they cannot continue working in their chosen profession and “cannot adjust” to a different job. ...

It’s even possible to collect payments for being disabled from a job you were never able to perform. A few years ago, a Newport News pipefitting apprentice was fired for cause after earning failing marks in her training courses.

But because she injured her wrist before she was terminated and would have been unable to continue in the job, had she been able to do it, a judge ruled that she established “a prima facie case of total disability.” ...

The SSA’s guidebook, which might as well be entitled, “You, Too, Can Be Disabled!” walks applicants through the steps to collect their jackpots. The first requirement is not to have traceable income of more than $900 a month.

Next, one must present a malady that is either among the listed impairments or is equal in severity. The lists are so exhaustive that almost everyone has some condition by which they could claim to be disabled. ...

For example, the guidelines say that in determining whether an individual has a musculoskeletal disability, the “inability to walk on the heels or toes, to squat, or to arise from a squatting position may be considered evidence of significant motor loss.” It also may be considered evidence of being older than 40.

Among the disabilities listed under “skin disorders” is dermatitis — i.e., dish-pan hands. Some skin conditions can be deemed disabling merely because they’re upsetting. ...

Yet the biggest travesty is that chiselers are clogging a system designed to help individuals who drew the genetic short straw and, through no fault of their own, cannot work to support themselves.

Most Have No Alternative To Social Security Disability Benefits

United Press International reports that a study shows that only 44% of Americans have long term disability insurance, even though disability insurance benefits under Social Security are only paid after a five month waiting period -- and most Social Security disability claimants have to wait much longer for a disability determination or appeal

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Personnel Changes At SSA

The Social Security Administration is now advertising position openings for Associate Commissioner for Budget, Deputy Associate Commissioner for Budget and Regional Commissioner for the Seattle region. The two budget openings suggest that Commissioner Astrue is already starting to make personnel changes and that Social Security's budget situation is a high priority.