New York Congressman Calls For More ALJs

From Buffalo Business First:

Applicants in Western New York seeking a hearing for Social Security benefits have to wait nearly two years, one of the worst processing times in the country.

Such delays have prompted Rep. Brian Higgins, D-Buffalo, to ask the federal agency to add more administrative law judges to the seven-county region, which includes Erie, Niagara, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Genesee, Monroe and Ontario counties.

In a letter to Social Security Administration Commissioner Michael Astrue, Higgins noted administrative law judges working the Buffalo area office have an average of 895 pending cases, among the largest caseloads in the nation. Also, the average length of each claim is 381 days. Figures are cited from the SSA's March 2008 hearing office report.

Albuquerque Social Security Building Evacuated

KRQE in Albuquerque, NM reports that the federal building in that city has been evacuated because of the smell of burning wires. Apparently, there is a Social Security field office in the building.

Plan To Close Half Of Social Security's Field Offices?

From the National Council Digest, put out by the Council 220 of the American Federation of Government Employees, a labor union that represents much of the Social Security Administration's labor force:

The Social Security Administration has devised a plan that would close nearly half of its 1,300 field offices around the United States. “Just three years ago, President Bush was pushing privatization,” said Witold Skwierczynski, President of Council 220. “That proposal failed miserably, but now the White House and high-ranking SSA officials apparently believe they can achieve the same goal by simply getting rid of offices that have 15 or fewer employees.” Council 220 represents over 28,000 Social Security employees, and Skwierczynski has written a letter to hundreds of members of Congress warning them about this proposal and how it will directly affect their district and constituents.

Union Says Mangers Are Critical Of Electronic Services

From the National Council Digest, a newsletter put out by Council 220 of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), a labor union that represents much of Social Security's workforce:

A study commissioned by Social Security but recently leaked to DIGEST [a column in the newsletter] shows that just 16% of managers consider electronic services “very effective.” An even higher number view them as “not very” or “not at all effective.” The agency has been pushing this type of service delivery program (which involves using the internet) at the same time it reduces staffing at field offices and teleservice centers around the United States. “I’m not surprised by these results,” says Debbie Fredericksen, the Executive Vice President of Council 220. “Managers will always do what they’re told – but some of them will also speak their mind when given a chance.” The online survey was sent to more than 3,400 managers; there were eleven questions and the agency received 1,652 responses. The poll also revealed that only 28% of manag-ers rate their staffs as “very knowledgeable.” One in ten described their employees as “not very” or “not at all knowledgeable.”

Disability Claims In The Making

Fee Payment Stats

The Social Security Administration has released updated statistics on payments of fees to attorneys and others for representing Social Security claimants. This is a good analogue for the payment of benefits to newly approved Social Security disability claimants, since the attorney and client are paid at about the same time.

As those familiar with the process know, these payments often speed up and slow down dramatically. As best I can tell, there are two major reasons for these speedups and slowdowns: at times payment center employees get pulled off their normal duties to answer calls 800 number (called "spiking," since it is in response to spikes in 800 number calls) and overtime may or may not be available.

Here are the most recent stats:

Fee Payments
Month/Year	Volume	Amount
Jan-08	20,559	$75,368,163.45
Feb-08	26,570	$95,228,284.32
Mar-08	23,088	$83,166,027.02

Hearing On Compassionate Allowances

From a Social Security news release:

The Social Security Administration held its second public hearing on compassionate allowances - a way to expedite the processing of disability claims for applicants whose medical conditions are so severe that their conditions obviously meet Social Security’s standards. At the hearing, Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, announced that the agency had entered into a first-of-its-kind agreement with the National Institutes of Health (NIH). NIH will provide technical assistance to Social Security to help ensure that elements of the compassionate allowance initiative are based on sound, up-to-date medical science. ...

The hearing, held today in Boston, featured some of the nation’s leading oncology experts presenting testimony and sharing their views about the best ways to determine compassionate allowances for children and adults with cancers. Once implemented, Social Security can quickly target the most obviously disabled individuals for allowances based on confirmation of the diagnosis alone; for example, acute leukemia, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and pancreatic cancer. The agency plans to begin piloting compassionate allowances later this year and plans to hold two more public hearings on the initiative as well.

I have news for Commissioner Astrue. Social Security and Disability Determination Service employees are not stupid or uncaring; at least, the vast majority are not. They already issue quick decisions in such cases. That is not a problem. Going ahead with this compassionate allowance silliness demonstrates that Commissioner Astrue has no idea what goes on in the field. He wishes to concentrate upon his own fantasies that the backlogs are a problem that can be addressed with simple, easy solutions instead of accepting than the reality that there is no solution for Social Security's backlogs that does not call for spending a lot more money and hiring a lot more employees. But, then, perhaps Astrue does realize this and these hearings are nothing more than empty gestures. In either case, whatever money is being spent on these hearings would have done more good if it had been spent on hiring another employee or two

Fraud Alleged In Wisconsin

From the Racine Journal Times:

A man allegedly reported his social security checks stolen in order to double the amount of money he was collecting from the government.

William E. Price, 49, of 1109 Washington Ave., is charged with theft by false representation. If convicted, he could face up to $10,000 in fines and six years imprisonment. ...

A special agent working for the Office of the Inspector General of the Social Security Administration investigating that type of fraud found that Price had done that on at least 15 occasions between February 2001 and December 2002. In total, Price is accused of defrauding the government of $5,389.40.