Newspaper Finds Backlog Decreases By 0.39% In Columbus, OH In Last Year -- And SSA Responds

From the Columbus Dispatch:

The Social Security Administration says it is making progress toward easing a crushing backlog of disability claims.

But disability attorneys in Columbus, with one of the worst backlogs in the country, say long waits still are the rule. Major improvements have been slow in coming since complaints were aired [in the Columbus Dispatch].

"If there's any improvement at all, it is very, very minimal," said Eileen Goodin, a Social Security disability attorney in Columbus who says her clients are waiting an average of 25 to 28 months for a hearing.

As of Oct. 30, 10,532 cases were pending in the Columbus office, said a spokeswoman for the agency in Washington, D.C. That's 41 fewer than exactly one year earlier.

And Social Security's response to this? Apparently, the agency put out a press release in Ohio touting "Quick Disability Determinations." It is a shame that Quick Disability Determinations is nothing more than a new name for something that has been around for decades, but that word "quick" sure impresses the uninitiated.

Off Topic: You Know Things Are Bad, When ...

Refugees from Pakistan are fleeing to Afghanistan.

More Comments On Proposed Procedural Regulations

Here are some more links to public comments made upon the proposed procedural regulations. I have tried to select comments that appear to me to be of more general interest, but my selections may be idiosyncratic. I am not sure if Social Security has posted all of the comments made. Probably, some made by mail are yet to appear on the website.

I am not going to give any names, but I did not find comments from some people whom I would have expected to comment. Maybe, those comments will show up later or maybe I missed them.

• Consortium For Citizens With Disabilities
• National Association of Disability Examiners
• Social Security Disability Coalition
• Richard Weishaupt, Community Legal Services of Philadelphia
• James Allsup
• Eric Schnaufer
• National Senior Citizens Law Center
• Ralph Wilborn
• American Bar Association
• Association of Administrative Law Judges
  

Results Of Last Week's Unscientific Poll

How was Christmas for you?

Pure fun and enjoyment (18)	19%
Fun, but tiring (24)	25%
Fun, but I didn't get what I wanted (4)	4%
Fun, but there was some tension (12)	12%
Good moments, but problems (9)	9%
A bit much (5)	5%
Many problems; I'm glad it's over. (3)	3%
Christmas was very sad for me (2)	2%
Terrible; a real disaster (1)	1%
I don't celebrate Christmas (18)	19%
Other view suggestions (18)	19%

Happy New Year!

Law School Helps Social Security Claimant

From the Detroit News:

For two years, Hugh Rowan, a Vietnam-era veteran, tried unsuccessfully to get his Social Security disability benefits restored.

"To say that Social Security representatives are not very receptive to you by phone would be an understatement," said Rowan, 55, whose health problems crippled his ability to walk and to work.

Now, Rowan is no longer homebound and credits a University of Detroit Mercy law student and professor for turning his life around.

Shortly after contacting the law school's pilot veterans clinic, Social Security officials agreed to not only restore Rowan's monthly benefits, but also to award him pay for the two years his benefits were wrongfully cut off, he said.

Attorney User Fee Stays At 6.3% For 2008

From today's Federal Register:

...[T]he Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999, established an assessment for the services required to determine and certify payments to attorneys from the benefits due claimants ...

That legislation set the assessment for the calendar year 2000 at 6.3 percent of the amount that would be required to be certified for direct payment to the attorney ... For subsequent years, the legislation requires the Commissioner of Social Security to determine the percentage rate necessary to achieve full recovery of the costs of determining and certifying fees to attorneys, but not in excess of 6.3 percent. ...

The Commissioner of Social Security has determined, based on the best available data, that the current rate of 6.3 percent will continue for 2008 ...

Marshfield News-Herald On Backlogs

Every newspaper in America will eventually do a story on Social Security's backlogs. From the Marshfield, WI News-Herald:

Since a workplace injury, Wisconsin Rapids resident Jennifer Allen has seen three surgeons and a pain specialist.

Although damaged disks and a pinched nerve have kept her from working since 2003, she won't know whether she is qualified for disability benefits until 2009.

An almost 750,000-case backlog of Social Security Administration disability benefit hearings is keeping her from finding out whether her two claim denials will be overturned.

Wisconsin has about 13,000 cases pending and only a handful of administrative law judges to handle them, according to the Social Security Administration. Nationally, about 2.5 million people applied for the Social Security disability program in 2007, according to the administration's 2007 fiscal year report.