Gokhale Appointed To SSAB

The Social Security Advisory Board (SSAB) reports that Jagadeesh Gokhale has been appointed to the Board by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. He replaces Sylvester Schieber. Gokhale is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, a right wing think tank. He supported former President George W. Bush's plan to partially privatize Social Security.

Employing Vets

From a press release:

On Dec. 11, the Interagency Council on Veterans Employment held its first meeting to discuss ways of expanding the participation of veterans in the nation's federal workforce. The meeting was co-chaired by Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis and Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. John Berry, director of the Office of Personnel Management, serves as the council's vice chair and chief operating officer.

The three officials were joined by Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, Commissioner Michael J. Astrue of the Social Security Administration, Director Arden L. Bement Jr. of the National Science Foundation and several other high-level representatives from agencies that together comprise 97 percent of the federal workforce. The council's goal is to transform the federal government into a model of veterans' employment.

Social Security And Senate Version Of Health Care Reform -- Some Asbestosis Victims Gets Special Benefits

From the New York Times:

Buried in the deal-clinching health care package that Senate Democrats unveiled over the weekend is an inconspicuous proposal expanding Medicare to cover certain victims of “environmental health hazards.”

The intended beneficiaries are identified in a cryptic, mysterious way: individuals exposed to environmental health hazards recognized as a public health emergency in a declaration issued by the federal government on June 17, 2009.

And who might those individuals be? It turns out they are people exposed to asbestos from a vermiculite mine in Libby, Mont.

The bill (page 198) gives authority to the Commissioner of Social Security to determine exactly who is entitled to this benefit. I think that the bill extends Medicare to this group for screening purposes only (see page 207) but the language is opaque.

The Spirit Of Christmas

Commissioner's Message On Appropriations

Subject: COMMISSIONER'S BROADCAST--12/18/09

A Message To All SSA And DDS Employees

Subject: FY 2010 Appropriation

Some good news to share!

President Obama has signed the omnibus appropriations bill for fiscal year (FY) 2010. The appropriations bill provides us with the amount requested in the FY 2010 President’s Budget, which represents a 10 percent increase over our FY 2009 appropriation.

Sustained, adequate funding for our agency makes a real difference to the American people. With the additional funding Congress provided over the last few years, we have made significant progress in enhancing service to the public, reducing the hearings backlog, processing hundreds of thousands more claims, and improving 800-number wait times and busy signals. I am proud of what we have accomplished, and I want to thank each of you for your efforts that contributed to our success in FY 2009.

With our annual appropriation, we will continue to increase staffing in hearings offices and in the State Disability Determination Services (DDSs). This past year, we increased the number of field office staff, and our funding will allow us to maintain this level. In addition, Operations will receive some additional hires to expand Federal capacity to help the DDSs. Our FY 2010 hiring plans will ensure that we maintain the momentum we achieved in FY 2009.

However, as you all know only too well, we are still dealing with dramatically higher workloads caused by the recession. Even with the 10 percent increase in funding, it will be a challenge to keep the level of pending initial disability claims below one million in FY 2010. We will continue to need adequate and sustained funding in future years in order to achieve our goals of reducing the hearings and disability claims backlogs.

We obviously have many challenges ahead of us, but I am confident that we are up to the task. I will keep you posted on our progress throughout the year.

Michael J. Astrue

Commissioner

Resurrection Takes Time

From KENS in San Antonio:

Considering the last several months, Robert McKenzie maintains a good spirit.

"I believe in God," the 72-year-old said. "I know that he will work things out, but sometimes when the devil gets after you, sometimes everything just falls apart."

In July, doctors diagnosed him with prostate cancer. But Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas left him with another problem.

It declared him dead.

The mistake was a simple coding error while processing his paperwork after he was discharged, the hospital said.

But that mistake spiraled into more problems.

"I had no income coming in," McKenzie continued. "I had my Medicare cut off. My Social Security was cut off. My SSI (Supplemental Security Income) was cut off. Everything!" ...

Presbyterian Hospital said when it discovered its mistake it fixed it immediately. The hospital even gave McKenzie $5,000 to help cover bills in the interim.

But unwinding this error with the Social Security Administration has taken longer.

Social Security's monthly checks of $700 resumed in December - for the first time since July, McKenzie said.

Supplemental Security Income was reactivated this week and he should receive checks again in January.

But neither Social Security nor SSI has been paid retroactively for the months he missed because of Presbyterian Hospital's mistake.

The Social Security Administration said work remains on McKenzie's file. Getting it all sorted out won't happen until after the holidays. ...

Part of the problem, he discovered, came from the $5,000 the hospital gave him. Social Security said it will deduct that from his Supplemental Income benefit.

Social Security Employee Finalist For Cost-Cutting Idea Award

Christie Dickson of Alabama, a Social Security employee, is a finalist for a White House Securing Americans Value and Efficiency (SAVE) Award. Dickson suggested scheduling Social Security appointments online.

House Of Representatives Passes Extension of SSI Withholding And Non-Attorney Withholding

The House of Representatives has passed the Jobs for Main Street Act of 2009 (page 115) which would make withholding of fees for representing Supplemental Security Income (SSI) claimants permanent and which would also make permanent withholding of fees for certain non-attorney representatives of Social Security claimants. There appear to be no other provisions in the bill affecting Social Security.

This bill is in a complicated procedural posture not worth explaining here. The net effect, however, is that the ball is in the Senate's court. Obviously, the Senate is tied up at the moment with health care reform. This bill will probably be the most important piece of business before the Senate come the new year -- assuming Republicans cannot succeed in delaying health care reform that long. While the Social Security provisions are uncontroversial, the entire bill is anathema to Republicans, who will try hard to stall it.