Baltimore Sun And Social Security

Take a look at the front page of today's Baltimore Sun. No mention of Robert Ball's death. I am unable to determine online whether the Baltimore Sun even carried an obituary for Robert Ball! Certainly, there was no major article on Ball's passage.

The Social Security Administration is the largest employer in the Baltimore area. Robert Ball was arguably the most important figure in the history of the Social Security Administration. I cannot comprehend the Baltimore Sun's studied indifference to the Social Security Administration. Is this ideological? Is it because the Baltimore Sun is just a bad newspaper? Is it because the Social Security Administration is located somewhat on the periphery of Baltimore?

Senate Finance Committee Version Of Economic Stimulus Package

The Senate Finance Committee has reported out an economic stimulus different than that passed by the House of Representatives. In the Senate Finance Committee version the following individuals would be eligible for rebates:

(1) The sum of an eligible individual’s: (1) earned income (as defined for purposes of the earned income credit); and (2) social security benefits must be at least $3,000; or
(2) The eligible individual has a net income tax liability of at least $1

This would allow virtually all recipients of benefits under Title II of the Social Security Act a rebate. I had been uncertain of this, since press reports had emphasized that the Senate Finance version of the economic stimulus package would give rebates to "seniors" on Social Security. Of course, there are many drawing disability and survivors benefits from Social Security who are not "seniors."

The Senate Finance bill would exclude almost all Supplemental Security Income (SSI) only recipients.

I have been unable to determine whether the rebate checks would be counted as income for purposes of SSI. If so, concurrent recipients of both Title II and SSI benefits would receive a rebate check, but would then lose most, if not all of it, because it would reduce their SSI benefits. In fact, they could actually end up worse off if the rebate check were enough to knock them out of Medicaid altogether for a month.

House Social Security Subcommittee Press Release On Suspension Of Regulatory Proceedings

A press release from the Social Security Subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee -- and note the last paragraph:

The Social Security Administration (SSA) today notified Congress that the agency would suspend some parts of a controversial proposed regulation that would sharply restrict appeal rights for severely disabled individuals applying for benefits.

Under the proposed regulation, severely disabled persons would have been denied access to over $2.0 billion in Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits over the next ten years – not because their disabilities were not severe enough, but because they could not successfully navigate the complex new procedural requirements established by the proposed rule. Those denied would also have lost access to critical Medicare and Medicaid benefits.

"This proposal would have complicated the disability system and denied benefits to deserving folks – I commend the SSA for reconsidering it," said Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles B. Rangel (D-NY). "We should be looking for ways to improve, not complicate, the current disability system. Our immediate priority is making sure SSA has enough disability claims examiners and judges to dramatically reduce the backlog of unprocessed claims. In the future, I look forward to working with the agency to ensure that the right balance is struck between speedy processing and adjudicating claims in a way that is thorough, fair, and accessible to claimants."

The proposed regulation engendered a strong outcry from Congress and advocacy organizations. A letter objecting to the regulation was sent in December by eleven House Committee and Subcommittee chairs. Letters objecting to the proposal were also sent by the Senate Finance Committee and other Senate leaders, and almost 500 comments were filed on the regulation, primarily in opposition.

"I am pleased that Social Security Commissioner Astrue has pledged to work with Congress to improve the disability process," said Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee Chairman Michael R. McNulty (D-NY). "It is essential that SSA bring down the backlog in a way that does not harm those we are trying to help. In my view, the most important thing we can do is to work together to ensure that SSA has sufficient resources to process the claims it receives without imposing intolerable waits and hardships on those suffering from severe disabilities."

The agency has agreed to suspend some portions of the regulation and will seek additional public input. However, it remains to be seen whether all aspects of the regulation that would unfairly harm disability applicants will be revised. The Committee on Ways and Means will continue to provide close oversight of the process and any proposed changes.

Astrue Message On Death Of Robert Ball

This message went out today:

A Message To All SSA And DDS Employees

Subject: Death of Robert M. Ball

I am saddened to report that former Social Security Commissioner Robert M. Ball died late last night after a brief illness. He was 93.

Bob Ball was the longest-serving Commissioner in Social Security history, having served in that position from 1962-1973. Prior to being named Commissioner, he held many management positions, starting his SSA career in a field office in 1939. He served as Commissioner under three different Presidents. After leaving the agency, Mr. Ball continued his involvement with the Social Security program, helping to found the National Academy of Social Insurance in 1986.

On a personal note, I want to say that Bob Ball left an indelible mark on the Social Security programs and the agency in that he played a critical role in the establishment of Medicare. His commitment to Social Security was unequaled, and he will be remembered as a great leader.

If you would like to know more about former Commissioner Ball’s career, you can visit our History page at

http://www.socialsecurity.gov/history/bobball.html.

Michael J. Astrue

Commissioner

Death Of Robert Ball

From Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo:

You probably don't know his name. And you probably won't see any news of his passing outside of the obit section. But Bob Ball, who died last night at the age of 93, probably played a greater role in expanding and defending Social Security than anyone in the second half of the 20th century.

Ball became a Field Assistant in the Social Security Board's New Jersey field office in 1939. He became Assistant Director of the Bureau of Old Age and Survivors Insurance in 1949. Later he became Deputy Director and then Acting Director. In 1962, President Kennedy appointed Ball a Commissioner of Social Security, where he remained until 1973.

Probably most significant was Ball's advocacy of Social Security and social insurance more generally after his retirement. He was a key member of the Greenspan Commission which made the program solvent well into the middle of the 21st century. And he was around as a key behind the scenes player as recently as President Bush's failed 2005 effort to phase out Social Security and replace it with a system of private accounts.

Greenville, SC District Office Reopens

News Channel 7 in Greenville, SC reports that the Greenville District Office of the Social Security Administration will reopen tomorrow after being closed since last week by a flood. As dry as it is in this part of the world, I can just about guarantee that this temporary office closure was caused by a plumbing problem.

Allsup's Plans

From the Belleville News-Democrat of Southwestern Illinois:

Jim Allsup is at it again. Twenty-four years after founding his own business to provide representative services for those who are looking to get Social Security disability insurance, which had previously been unserved in the market, Allsup is now expanding with a broader range of services to assist clients with disability life planning and advisory in Medicare. ...

Jim Allsup recently talked with business reporter Will Buss about his business' new services:

Q: What is your new focus?

A: "Our focus these days is really aggressively going toward the disabled consumer.

"Our future really lies in being able to go directly to the disabled consumer to continue to grow the core Social Security service, but at the same time, we're expanding the portfolio of services that we provide to that disabled consumer so that we're providing a complete range of both financial and health-care services for the disabled consumer.

"The majority of our business in the past has been commercially based where we contract with large insurance carriers and Fortune 500 employers around the country to provide our services to their disabled employees and disabled insurers. And they pay the fee because they have a financial stake in the outcome of what we do. So our focus, up until now, our primary focus has been on companies that have employer-provided, long-term disability benefit plans. And the reason being is that these plans and Social Security, and every dollar we obtain from Social Security, reduces their liability by a dollar. However, only one out of every three employees are the U.S. is covered by an employer-provided, long-term disability plan, which means two out of three employees aren't. So we really have a concentrated focus now to go directly to the disabled consumer."

Astrue Partially Suspends Regulatory Proceedings

This does not begin to solve all the problems associated with the proposed rules. Click on each page to view full size. Ending reopening for new and material evidence is a major element of this proposal that remains, for instance. That may be the largest part of the $2 billion cost saving associated with this proposal.