New HOCALJ In Orlando

I have just learned the Kevin Duggan, who has been an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) in Charlotte, NC, has been named the Hearing Office Chief Administrative Law Judge (HOCALJ) in Fort Lauderdale, FL.

Help From A Newspaper

From the Post-Tribune of Merrillville, IN:

Dear Fixer: In mid-April, the Social Security Administration deposited $11,620 in my checking account by mistake. They insisted it was mine. I said it wasn't.

In June, they took away all my Social Security payments, plus part of my husband's. I also have to pay my Medicare separately.

After months of trying to resolve this, I received a bill -- for $23,202! I've called a lawyer and my congressman; so far no results.

Darlene Land, Cedar Lake

Dear Darlene: The Fixer has wanted to wait to see if they would screw up again and accidentally deposit $23,202 in your account. That would be one way to take care of this bill.

Instead, we got in touch with Antonio Henderson at Social Security. Henderson was able to get that enormous bill off your back -- at least most of it. But not before running into a little more red tape.

For starters, you said -- even after you paid back much of the $11,620 that was given to you in error -- you were billed $15,111. You also were notified that Social Security would withhold payments until September 2011.

After more investigating, the people at the Social Security Administration agreed you owed them only another $5,000 -- an amount you say should be lower, but at least you're getting closer. They've also agreed to resume sending your regular Social Security checks.

Well, she did call a lawyer before contacting the newspaper and there is probably a lot more to the story than is in this newspaper article, but I still have to wonder if this lady is getting the help she needs. Where did this remaining $5,000 overpayment come from? Is it possible to get the remaining $5,000 overpayment waived? Will she be getting the regular monthly checks only because she agreed to a repayment schedule for an overpayment that she does not understand and which might be waived if she asked? Is she getting the regular monthly checks only because Social Security is still trying to straighten out this mess? Is the problem really solved or just deferred?

In fairness to the newspaper, claimants often seem to omit key pieces of information when they talk with me about overpayments, especially information about their fault in causing the overpayment.

Office Closure In Florida

From the South Florida Sun-Sentinel:

HALLANDALE BEACH - When Al Cunningham, a disabled Vietnam veteran, needed help from the Social Security Administration, he drove the 2.27 miles to the agency's office.

His five-minute trip just got a lot longer.

The agency closed its Hallandale Beach office Jan. 1 and combined it with a larger one 11 miles away at 500 N. Hiatus Road in Pembroke Pines.

The move will save the Social Security Administration $4.61 million a year, regional commissioner Paul Barnes said. ...

Carlos Simmons, president of the Hallandale Beach Community Civic Association, said the closing was "not a good thing. A lot of the elderly folks used that office."

Hallandale Beach Mayor Joy Cooper said she's gotten several calls from upset residents.

"We're opposed to [the consolidation]," said Cooper, whose city offered Social Security administrators a "free satellite office" to continue service. ...

U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek, D-Miami, whose district includes Hallandale Beach, Pembroke Park and West Park, tried but was unable to stop the office's closing.

Michael Astrue, an agency official, told Meek in a Dec. 18 letter that combining the offices "will enable us to streamline our processes and provide a more effective and efficient way to serve the public."

Cleveland Editorial

From the Cleveland Plain Dealer:

After nearly four years, Social Security disability applicants can be forgiven for being cynical about the latest pledges to end the backlog that keeps their cases in limbo.

This time, however, there is a ray of hope that the reforms will work. The Social Security Administration has a bigger budget from Congress and a newly rediscovered sense of urgency about the plight of the 14,090 applicants in Northeast Ohio who have been waiting for months, in some cases years, for a resolution.

The delays are inexcusable. They heap bureaucratic agony on once-proud working people laid low by crippling diseases or accidents. Some people lost their homes, their medical insurance or their very lives before a judge awarded them a disability payment.

The latest reforms could unclog this blocked spigot. And other remedies are in the works that focus on technology and personnel. More judges will be added to the Social Security bench, and current judges are giving priority to the oldest cases and using videos at hearings or not holding hearings at all - simply relying on the documents before them.

Judges should make sure to use the no-hearings solution carefully, so fraud doesn't flourish in the system. But with thousands awaiting a decision - and a possible tidal wave of dis-abled baby boomers not far down the road - the Social Security Administration has to stop making promises and start delivering on them.

Fee Payments

The Social Security Administration has released updated data on payments of fees to attorneys and others for representing Social Security claimants. Payments were way down in December 2007.

As I mention each time I post this data, it should be of interest not merely to those who represent Social Security claimants. Attorneys and other who represent Social Security claimants are paid at about the same time as the Social Security claimants themselves. When we see a slowdown in payments to those who represent Social Security claimants, we are seeing strong evidence of a slowdown in payments to the claimants themselves. No only do claimants have to wait and wait for adjudication of their claims, they often have to wait for payment after a favorable decision.

Fee Payments
Month/Year	Volume	Amount
Jan-07	15,331	$55,149,991.81
Feb-07	19,301	$69,731,683.72
Mar-07	26,505	$94,396,916.02
Apr-07	26,889	$96,650,134.82
May-07	24,429	$86,625,391.60
June-07	27,716	$99,357,038.71
July-07	21,807	$78,273,082.88
Aug-07	28,607	$101,523,346.40
Sept-07	21,409	$75,663,579.78
Oct-07	21,903	$79,209,567.01
Nov-07	27,096	$97,365,979.66
Dec-07	17,991	$63,943,231.30

Charities Help Alleviate Misery Caused By Delays At Social Security

From The Ledger of Lakeland, FL:

It was early October when the power company cut off Justin Barber for not paying his bills, plunging the Auburndale man ever deeper into despair over his worsening health.

A severe case of sleep apnea has prevented Barber from holding a job for the past few years, and his only means of income has been the charity of relatives, friends, his church and the occasional assistance of Polk County Social Services. ...

Now in its 39th year, the Heart program also helped Barber catch up on rent, keeping him from losing his modest apartment. The program is for people who have fallen on hard times because of sickness, injury or loss of job and have exhausted other forms of assistance.

The Heart program relies solely on donations an d the many resources of United Way of Central Florida, which screens applicants and assists in helping them complete applications that are forwarded to a committee of social services experts for consideration. ...

While applicants are considered on a case-by-case basis, the one constant is that they are people whose circumstances are temporary.

Such is the case with Barber, who has applied for Social Security disability benefits and is awaiting his second determination

His case is a good one, according to experts on Social Security eligibility, and Barber is optimistic of his chances. Meanwhile, however, he has only food stamps and the generosity of others to keep him from being put out onto the streets.

An Update

From the CBS News website:

Here’s an update on Armen Keteyian’s investigation on the failures of social security disability. Scott Watson, who fractured his spinal cord after a failed back surgery, appeared in our story on Monday, January 14. He was turned down TWICE for federal disability, and has been waiting nearly a year. Now we’ve learned just days after our story aired, he’s been approved. He was told our story DID NOT influence the reversal.

An Item Placed On The Agenda For Consideration After The Election -- Eliminate The Five Month Waiting Period

A press release from Representative Joseph Crowley:

Washington - Congressman Joseph Crowley (D-Queens & the Bronx) Wednesday questioned the Social Security Administration about the need to eliminate the backlogs in handling disability casework, as well as shorten or end the 5-month mandated waiting period for eligible Americans to receive Social Security disability benefits.

Crowley, a member of the House Committee on Ways and Means, which has jurisdiction over health, tax, trade, Social Security and pension issues, spoke at a hearing on the need for the Federal government to provide more efficient and effective assistance to disabled Americans, including many of our returning veterans.

At the hearing, the Social Security Administration stated that they had not planned on reviewing the five-month waiting period before one can receive SSDI, but agreed to review this limit under questioning from Crowley.