Group Home Fraud

From the Gainesville Sun:

Kehua Hu owned and operated Hu Group Homes, 1259 NW 60th St., from 2000 to 2004, providing long-term care for adults and children identified as retarded, psychiatric, self-injurious or physically challenged.

Hu admitted that during those four years, she was depositing her residents' Social Security checks into her checking account at Campus USA Credit Union, stealing a total of $215,500 for her personal use. ...

Now Hu faces 18 charges of payee fraud. Each charge carries up to five years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine.

Fraud Allegation In South Carolina

From the Times and Democrat of Orangeburg, SC:

Latoya Shantell Green, 23, of Orangeburg has been charged in a one-count indictment alleging that between June 2003 and May 2007 she stole approximately $23,731 from the government by forging and cashing 47 Social Security checks that were payable to her deceased aunt, according to the U.S. Attorney's office.

Cert Denied In Public Citizen Case

The Supreme Court has refused to hear Public Citizen v. United States District Court, a case having to do with the validity of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, which contained a number of items affecting the Social Security Administration.

Don't Blame Us!

A letter to the editor published in the New York Times:

Re “Disabled Need Help Now, Not Later” (letters, Dec. 17):

The New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance takes great pride in our expeditious review of federal disability claims.

Our work force has the tools and the training to decide initial claims in a timely manner. We review extensive medical documentation, consult with medical professionals and render a decision in less than three months on average.

The backlogs identified by The New York Times in its earlier coverage occur at the appeals stage, which is directly administered by the Social Security Administration.

As a result of our ability to manage our own caseload, our office has taken on and completed approximately 4,500 cases that would otherwise have been handled by the Social Security Administration, to assist in reducing the backlog of cases on appeal.

David A. Hansell

Albany, Dec. 17, 2007

The writer is the commissioner of the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance.

Fraud In Illinois

From WREX-TV in Rockford, IL:

A Rockford woman pleads guilty to stealing social security benefits.

Joan Jarrett, 61, got about more than $79,000 illegally. Investigators say she applied for supplemental security income benefits in 1990 because she wasn't living with her husband at the time.

Even though they started living together again the next year, Jarrett got the benefits until 2005. Jarrett even admitted to lying to the Social Security Administration about living with her husband.

She has to pay the money back and could get as much as 10 years in prison.

QDD Begins In Missouri

No one is even pretending that "Quick Disability Determinations" (QDD) will solve Social Security's backlogs. It is hard to convince those in the field that there is anything new about QDD, other than the name, but QDD is the only fig leaf at hand. From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, announced that the Social Security Administration has implemented its new quick disability determination (QDD) process in Missouri's disability determination services. Under QDD, a predictive model analyzes specific elements of data within the electronic claims file to identify claims where there is a high potential that the claimant is disabled and where evidence of the person's allegations can be quickly and easily obtained. ... "The length of time many people wait for a disability decision is unacceptable," Commissioner Astrue said. "I am committed to a process that is as fair and speedy as possible. While there is no single magic bullet, with better systems, better business processes and better ways of fast-tracking targeted cases, we can greatly improve the service we provide to the citizens of Missouri."

Really, there is a "magic bullet." It is called "being able to hire enough personnel to get the work done."

Commissioner's Holiday Message

A broadcast e-mail:

From: ^Commissioner Broadcast
Sent: Friday, December 21, 2007 2:44 PM
Subject: COMMISSIONER'S BROADCAST--12/21/07

A Message To All SSA And DDS Employees

Subject: Holiday Message

I want to take this opportunity to wish each of you and your families a wonderful holiday season. I hope that your holidays are filled with happiness and cheer.

I also want to share some important budget news. As you may have heard by now, Congress has filled the SSA stocking more fully this year than it has in a long time. Congress has passed, and we expect the President to sign, an appropriations bill giving the agency $150 million more than the President’s original request. Late in the process we also gained some flexibility we didn't anticipate relating to program integrity work. We will get more information out to you after the new year.

I have just arrived back in Boston, and I'm looking forward to spending time with family for a little while. We have had a good finish to a good year, and I hope that you all have a chance to unwind and relax for a while!

So, as we celebrate this welcome budget news and the holiday season, let me thank you all for the extraordinary work you have accomplished this year. May you and yours have a happy, healthy new year.

Michael J. Astrue

Commissioner

Connected With New York Times Article?

The Social Security Administration has long urged its employees to be sensitive to cases in which claimants threaten suicide. The agency has just reissued instructions on this subject. You have to wonder if this is connected with the recent New York Times article, which included the sad story of a disability claimant who committed suicide.