Athens Messenger On Social Security Backlogs

From the Athens, Ohio Messenger:

Problems with a government safety net continue to worsen, threatening the physical and financial health of millions of Americans, including residents of Athens County, according to a report issued by the Athens County Department of Job and Family Services. ... "It's been an issue for years, and absolutely is a nationwide problem," said Jack Frech, executive director of the county agency. According to the agency's report, backed up by statistics from Social Security Administration, of the 2.5 million people who file disability claims annually, nearly two-thirds initially are denied. However, about 60 percent of those who seek to appeal the rejection eventually are approved for benefits - but typically have to wait 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 years during a lengthy appeals process. In the meantime, those appealing the initial decision often face serious issues from the lack of medical coverage and little or no income. Often, they experience home foreclosures and/or bankruptcies, addiction and/or depression, even deteriorating health problems, the report claims.

First Reports Of Senior Attorney Decisions

I have not yet seen one myself, but late today I heard multiple reports of senior attorney decisions received from different hearing offices in North Carolina.

Tidbits From NADE Newsletter: A Surprise, DOT And Functional Evaluation

The National Association of Disability Examiners (NADE), an organization of Disability Determination Service (DDS) employees has issued its Fall 2007 newsletter. Here are a few tidbits.

NADE got a surprise when Barbara Styles, who had been president of NADE, resigned because she had taken a job at Social Security's central offices, making her no longer a DDS employee. She has been replaced by Georgina Huskey.

Glenn Sklar, Social Security's Associate Commissioner for the Office of Disability Programs, spoke at a NADE National Training Conference in Sioux Falls, SD. Here is NADE's summary of some of what he had to say.:

The DOT [Dictionary of Occupational Titles] was last updated in 1991. There is no easy replacement as the Department of Labor [DOL] owns the DOT. DOL has no interest in updating the DOT, which does not address non-exertional issues, internet jobs, etc. ODP is trying to interest NIH [National Institutes of Health]in the functional aspects of step 4 and 5, as there is divergence seen between ODAR [Office of Disability Adjudication and Review] and DDS at this point in sequential evaluation. This will be a five year project. There will be ongoing vocational training for experienced adjudicators and reviewers to be conducted in FOs and individual DDSs.

So, what is Social Security's plan for dealing with the obsolescence of the DOT? Get the NIH to give Social Security a bulletproof tool for determining residual functional capacity? Sounds like a great idea. Maybe they can come up with a meter for measuring pain while they are at it.

Fraud In Pennsylvania

From the Times Tribune:

A Hazleton man and his girlfriend face 20 years in prison after admitting to stealing more than $88,000 in disability payments meant for his dead father.

Joseph M. Yesvetz, 52, and Annamarie Gorski, 46, both of Diamond Avenue, pleaded guilty to mail fraud in front of U.S. District Judge William J. Nealon on Wednesday.

Mr. Yesvetz is the son of Albert W. Yesvetz, also of Hazleton. The elder Mr. Yesvetz had collected disability benefits since 1986, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Barbara Kosik-Whitaker.

No one notified the state of the elder Mr. Yesvetz’s death in September 2001, Ms. Kosik-Whitaker said, so the $694 checks continued to be sent twice a month. Mr. Yesvetz also allegedly told state employees who called in 2002, 2005 and 2006 to inquire about his father’s disability status that his father couldn’t come to the phone, but his health condition remained unchanged, according to court records.

Prosecutors estimate that Mr. Yesvetz and Ms. Gorski received about 127 disability checks totaling $88,138. Mr. Yesvetz is accused of forging his father’s signature and depositing checks into his mother’s bank account and another he shared with Ms. Gorski. She is accused of cashing one of the disability checks at her bank.

Interesting Opinion

Social Security's Office of Regional Counsel in Atlanta has offered an interesting opinion on adoption, holding that if state law allows adoption of an adult, Social Security is bound by that law. If the adopted person became disabled before age 22, that person can potentially qualify for disabled adult child benefits on the account of the person or persons who adopted him or her.

Fraud In Myrtle Beach

From SC Now:

A federal judge has sentenced Archie B. Elliott, 39, of Myrtle Beach to eight months in prison, Thursday. The judge also ordered Elliott to pay restitution in the amount of $30,001.00 to the Social Security Administration.

Elliott admitted that in 2005 and 2005, he applied for and received federal disability benefits, claiming he was unable to work. However, during that period, Elliott was employed, selling timeshares in Myrtle Beach.

"With No Human Intervention"

From a recent presolicitation notice posted by the Social Security Administration:

The Social Security Administration (SSA) intends to award a sole source contract under the authority of Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 13.5 to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), 330 Brookline Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02215. The contract will require BIDMC to jointly develop specifications for a standardized request for medical evidence and response, and an associated implementation guide based on standards approved by the Health Information Technology Standards Panel (HITSP) and other widely used industry standards. The contract period will be approximately nine months.

The objective of the project will be to evaluate the feasibility, technical alternatives, and potential value of leveraging electronic communication along with structured clinical information with healthcare providers for the disability claims process. A standardized process and associated implementation guides will be developed to leverage provider-based Electronic Health Records (EHR) to generate responses to electronic requests from SSA with no human intervention using standard electronic transactions transmitting structured clinical information, which could result in quicker decisions on disability claims.

New Changes In Digestive Listings?

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) must approve all federal regulations. OMB's website has a list of regulatory proposals it has received. Here is one that was just posted:

AGENCY: SSA	RIN: 0960-AG65
TITLE: Revised Medical Criteria for Evaluating Functional Limitations Due to Digestive Disorders
STAGE: Prerule	ECONOMICALLY SIGNIFICANT: No
RECEIVED DATE: 11/29/2007	LEGAL DEADLINE: None

Social Security just published new final digestive system listings, effective on December 18. Apparently, the agency already wishes to revise the new listings.