Major Media Stories Coming

There are major news media stories on Social Security's disability backlogs in the works.

There have been reports over the last month or so that CBS News is doing a story on Social Security's disability backlogs. It has been unclear to me whether the story is for 60 Minutes or for the CBS Evening News.

The New York Times is currently doing a story on the same subject. A New York Times reporter, Eric Eckholm, came to my office on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. Eckholm and a cameraman visited the homes of several of my firm's clients that day and the next, returning to New York on Thanksgiving morning. My understanding is that Eckholm is interviewing Commissioner Astrue this week. I know that Eckholm has been in contact with a number of other people concerning the story.

I cannot say when either of these stories will run.

Social Security's Not The Only Agency With Disability Problems

From the Raleigh News and Observer:

The Department of Veterans Affairs fell further behind this year in its attempts to give veterans timely decisions on their disability claims, new records show.

The latest numbers are in an annual report the VA prepares for Congress detailing a range of short- and long-term goals for its disability, health and other benefit programs. Overall, the agency either has fallen behind or has made no progress in improving its performance in more than half of what it lists as its key goals.

In the benefits measure the VA has said is "most critical to veterans" -- the speed of processing disability claims -- the agency lost ground for the third year in a row.

Comments On GAO Report

From Thomson Financial News:

"The report makes clear that cutting guaranteed benefits for retirees would have a devastating impact on families with a disabled worker and on survivors," House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel of New York said today. "The American people fully expect that any discussions on the future of Social Security will look to strengthen and preserve, not undercut, Social Security's guaranteed benefits." The top Republican on the committee, Jim McCrery of Louisiana, acknowledged that Social Security benefits vulnerable families, but did not say, as Rangel did, that Social Security reform must maintain the same level of benefits.

"This report provides useful information to policymakers as we thoughtfully and carefully consider all options to strengthen Social Security," McCrery said.

GAO Report On "Reforming" Social Security Disability

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued a report entitled "Social Security Reform: Issues for Disability and Dependent Benefits." To understand the report one must first understand that almost always when people in our nation's capitol use the word "reform" in connection with Social Security, they are talking about cutting benefits. Basically, this report is about ways of "reforming" Social Security disability and dependent benefits by cutting benefits and how the damage that would cause could be mitigated by employing less "reform", that is, by cutting disability and dependent benefits a bit less.

My guess is that this study was ordered by Republicans when they controlled Congress.

No Match Rules Development: What Does It Mean?

From the New York Times:

The Bush administration will suspend its legal defense of a new rule issued in August to punish employers who hire illegal immigrants, conceding a hard-fought opening round in a court battle over a central measure in its strategy to curb illegal according to government papers filed late Friday in federal court.

Instead, the administration plans to revise the rule to try to meet concerns raised by a federal judge and issue it again by late March, hoping to pass court scrutiny on the second try. The rule would have forced employers to fire workers within 90 days if their Social Security information could not be verified. ...

The rule laid out procedures for employers to follow after receiving a notice from the, known as a no-match letter, advising that an employee’s identity information did not match the agency’s records. The employer would have had to fire an employee who could not provide verifiable information within 90 days, or face the risk of prosecution for knowingly hiring illegal immigrants. Those immigrants often present fake Social Security numbers when applying for jobs.

What's Happened To Barnhart?

Does anyone know what has become of Jo Anne Barnhart since her term as Commissioner of Social Security ended?

Your Reward For a Job Well Done: More Work

A press release from the Idaho Department of Labor:

The Idaho Department of Labor agency charged with evaluating the medical eligibility of Social Security disability claims has received national recognition for its speed and productivity.

The Idaho Disability Determinations Service ranked first nationally for the 2007 federal budget year in expediting claims. The Idaho office processed claims in an average of 58 to 60 days, depending on the type of claim, while the national processing time averaged over 84 days.

The efficiency was achieved in the face of a 3.6 percent increase in cases to nearly 17,000 and a reduction in the number of adjudicators during the year from 26 to 21.

Processing almost 320 cases in an average week won the agency the second highest productivity rating in the country.

Because of the agency’s reputation, the Social Security Administration has asked Idaho to work with other states to improve their operations. Between November and May, Idaho processed nearly 1,200 Utah cases. It was the second year in a row the Idaho office helped reduce the case backlog in another state.

“The staff’s timely, efficient determinations reflect their commitment to top quality service for disabled Idahoans at the time they need assistance,” Idaho Disability Determinations Service Administrator Nancy Vazquez said.

In late August, the agency agreed to handle 300 cases assigned to the regional Office of Disability Adjudication and Review, which has been struggling with an ever increasing case backlog.

The federal government’s annual evaluation of the Idaho operation last summer cited “an extremely high level of performance” and commitment from managers and staff to “the best possible service to the citizens of Idaho.

One Million Online

From the Business Courier of Cincinnati:

The Social Security Administration recognized a West Chester man as its one millionth person to file for retirement benefits online.

Dewey Bales followed the online application process, which recently ranked top of all federal government websites for customer satisfaction, and received his first payment earlier this month.