Like Déjà Vu

     From WBAL-TV in Baltimore:

Delays in Social Security disability benefit payouts have left many Marylanders with questions -- and without money. ...

A WBAL-TV 11 News I-Team investigation in September evoked both anger and frustration from viewers regarding a long application process, long wait and, in some cases, denial....

One week after the I-Team intervened, Social Security approved Davis' application and deposited $59,391 of back pay into his bank account....

Among those who contacted the I-Team included Jeffrey Smith, of Parkville, who suffers from Crohn's disease complicated by type 1 diabetes. The illness ended his 26-year career in retail.

Waiting 2½ years for Social Security disability benefits sent him into bankruptcy and put his home in jeopardy....

When the I-Team checked on the status of Smith's case, it was like déjà vu, Weiner said. Pay day came soon after the I-Team's call to Social Security.

"He contacted me at 3:30 on Monday, and at 1:15 Wednesday morning, the check was direct deposited -- $36,000," Smith said. ...

Physicians who had worked at Social Security's campus in Woodlawn, evaluating new claims from across the country, said they also had a story to tell.

Dr. Neil Novin, a surgeon for more than 40 years, was one of dozens of doctors working part-time reviewing disability claims -- until Social Security fired him. ... 

"Americans who are applying for disability insurance are not getting a fair shake anymore," Novin said. Social Security called that claim "baseless."

Novin said Social Security fired him for opposing pay and policy changes, which meant doctors were no longer assigned cases based on their area of expertise."When cardiologists are evaluating people with back problems and orthopedic surgeons are evaluating people with hearing problems, that ain't kosher," Novin said. "You've been paying Social Security dues for all your life, and if you have an injury, you're entitled to it. You ought to get it and the decision should be by people who are knowledgeable."Dr. Francis Clark, an orthopedic surgeon who also worked part-time at Social Security, said he was among a handful of doctors who quit. When asked what the general sense is among the doctors who left, Clark said, "frustration."

House Social Security Subcommittee Schedules Hearing

     From a press release:

U.S. Congressman Sam Johnson (R-TX), Chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Security, today announced a hearing series on Securing the Future of the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) Program.  The first hearing of the series will focus on the history of the disability insurance program, the income security it provides and its financing challenges.  The hearing will take place on Friday, December 2, 2011, in B-318 Rayburn House Office Building, beginning at 9:00 a.m. ...

In announcing the hearing series, Social Security Subcommittee Chairman Sam Johnson (R-TX) said, “Disabilities have a devastating effect on individuals and their families, and Social Security Disability Insurance benefits provide important income security that they rely on.  Yet in just seven years the disability program will be unable to pay full benefits unless changes to the law are made.  Through this hearing series the Subcommittee will lead a much-needed conversation about the challenges facing this vital program and solutions that can meet the needs of those with disabilities and the workers who support the program through their hard-earned tax dollars.” 

Quiz Answer

Question: Which of the following actions by the Social Security Administration is NOT an initial determination subject to appeal?

Possible Answers:

• Determination that a representative payee is required for a person not already declared legally incompetent
• Citizenship determination
• Determination of marital relationship
• Denial of request to reopen prior determination

Correct answer:  Denial of request to reopen prior determination

But This Costs Money And More Money Is Out Of The Question

From the Huffington Post:

Fourteen Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee want more scrutiny of how the Social Security Administration oversees benefit checks sent to disabled adults and minors to make sure the money does not fall into the hands of predators.

A recent Philadelphia case found that a woman accused of locking mentally disabled people in a squalid basement was able to cash their benefit checks without being discovered by authorities.

Quiz

Free Web poll for your Web site - freepolls.com

Major WSJ Article

There is a major article on Social Security's disability program in today's Wall Street Journal.

Recessions And Disability Claims

     From the Social Security Bulletin:

We use data from Social Security administrative records to examine the lifetime patterns of initial entitlement to retired-worker and Disability Insurance (DI) benefits across cohorts born in different years. Breaking out age-at-entitlement patterns for different birth-year cohorts reveals close adherence in entitlement ages to changes in program rules, such as increasing the full retirement age. The proportion of a cohort that becomes newly entitled to DI benefits rises noticeably during recessions and at ages 50 and 55, and cumulative entitlement rate patterns show that more recent cohorts rely increasingly on DI benefits in their late 30s and 40s.

     If you look at the actual data, the correlation between recessions and disability claims seems to be weak to the point of being non-existent. Here's what the study says further on:

To further investigate the effect of the economy and the stance of the DI program regarding new entitlements, we next examine the incidence of new entitlements by year, 1969–2006, for the same cohorts studied above. Chart 8 shows the effect of the 1974–1975 recession, with a modest increase in entitlement rates across all cohorts. The 1980–1982 double-dip recession is notable in that no increase in new entitlements occurred: Those years correspond to restricted allowance rates. However, the 1984 Social Security Amendments relaxed some of the prior restrictions and extended allowances to people with certain mental and musculoskeletal impairments. That legislation not only changed labor market conditions, it likely contributed to increases in new entitlements in the 3–4 years leading up to the recession of 1990–1991. We also see rising entitlements in the years leading up to 2000–2001. The slow pace of the economic recovery following the 2001 recession corresponds with the continued high incidence of new DI entitlements in 2002–2006.

     Basically, the report says that there is an association between recession sand disability claims except when there isn't and that increases in disability claims that come before a recession or after a recession are proof that recessions cause disability claims.
     Overall, what I see here is proof that the number of people approved for Social Security disability benefits depends largely upon the policies followed by Social Security which should surprise no one.

Not Much Parking

From the Social Security Bulletin:

Fewer Social Security Disability Insurance (DI) beneficiaries have their earnings suspended or terminated because of work than those who are actually working, partly because beneficiaries "park" earnings at a level below substantial gainful activity (SGA) to retain benefits. We assess the extent of parking by exploiting the 1999 change in the SGA earnings level from $500 to $700 monthly for nonblind beneficiaries using a difference-in-difference analysis that compares two annual cohorts of beneficiaries who completed their trial work period, one that was affected by the SGA change and one that was not. Our impact estimates, along with results from other sources, suggest that from 0.2 to 0.4 percent of all DI beneficiaries were parked below the SGA level in the typical month from 2002 through 2006. The SGA change did not yield any difference in mean earnings, although it did result in a small reduction in months spent off of the rolls because of work.