Comments On Representation Rules -- Two Days To Go

The deadline for posting comments on the proposed new rules on representing claimants before the Social Security Administration is this Friday.

Thus far, there have been few comments. Here are links to a few worthy on notice:

• Chamberline, Edmunds law firm
• Barkan Neff law firm
• Utah Association for Justice

You can post your comments online.

Social Security Wants To Plan Massive Database Makeover

I cannot begin to understand all of this, but it appears that Social Security is seeking a vendor to do a study on how the agency can reorganize its massive system of databases. I would imagine the study contract alone would be a big one and the contract to do the actual work would be humongous. Can anyone with more knowledge help me out here?

Open Forum: What Do The Election Results Mean For Social Security

At this writing, it is certainly looking as if Barack Obama will be the next President of the United States and that Democrats will have larger margins in the Senate and House of Representatives.

What do you think this means for Social Security? Share your views, opinions and guesses by commenting on this post.

Vote!

OMB Clears Proposed Rules On Setting Time And Place For ALJ Hearings

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has just cleared proposed regulations concerning setting the time and place for hearings before Administrative Law Judges (ALJs). Here is the brief summary given by OMB:

The amendments include provisions clarifying that claims denied by state Disability Determination Services and other adjudicators for “failure to cooperate” are technical denials rather than medical determinations, and providing flexibility in setting the time and place of hearings. We also intend to propose new regulatory provisions that will allow ALJs to dismiss a request for a hearing where a claimant has abandoned his or her claim and to specify regulatory standards that require ALJs to clearly articulate their rationale when issuing decisions on remanded claims.

Revised Rules On Overpayments

Social Security has published a final rule in the Federal Register. Here is Social Security's summary:

These rules amend our title II regulations to explicitly provide that we apply an underpayment due an individual to reduce an overpayment to that individual in certain cases. Our title XVI regulations already state this policy. Additionally, these rules reflect our procedures for collecting overpayments when a payment of more than the correct amount is made to a representative payee on behalf of a beneficiary after the beneficiary's death. These rules clarify that we collect overpayments in this situation from only the representative payee or his estate but not from the representative payee's spouse or from the spouse's estate.

Complaints About Dover Hearing Office

Wayne Gilchrest, who represents Delaware in the House of Representatives, has been complaining about service at Social Security's hearing office in Dover, specifically: requests for excessive and redundant medical evidence, unwarranted dismissals, improper handling of terminal illness, medically critical, and dire need claims and inappropriate comments at hearings.

Social Security's Office of Inspector General (OIG) was asked to investigate. OIG's report has been posted. They really did not investigate the Dover hearing office, instead concentrating upon Social Security's handling of the Congressman's complaints and agreed that the agency could handle the complaints better.

I am not familiar with the situation in Dover. I do know that the Social Security Administration has difficulty handling rogue (to use a term in the news) Administrative Law Judges (ALJs). They want to insure good public service but they do not want to interfere with ALJ independence.

SSI Stats Released

Social Security's Office of Policy has released its monthly compilation of statistics concerning the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program.

There were 7,355,596 recipients of SSI in September 2007. This had risen to 7,509,397 in September 2008, an increase of 2.1% in a year. The number of recipients on account of age actually dropped over this time period, while the number of disability benefit recipients increased by 2.4%, undoubtedly due to the aging of the baby boomer generation.