What's Wrong With This Picture?

     A new Harris poll shows that only 12% of Americans want to cut Social Security. All Republican candidates for President endorse cuts in Social Security.

Major Increase In Fee Payments In March

     These are Social Security's numbers on payments of fees to attorneys and others for representing claimants before the agency. These payments are not an expense of the Social Security Administration. They come out of the back benefits of the claimants involved. This is a useful analog to show the speed at which Social Security is able to pay claimants after they are approved for benefits. A slowdown in these fees means a slowdown in getting claimants on benefits and a speedup in these payments means a speedup in getting claimants paid.

Fee Payments 2011 Month/Year Volume Amount Jan-11 34,467 $113,459,847.04 Feb-11 33,305 $107,796,771.38 Mar-11 34,885 $112,463,768.46 Apr-11 48,033 $153,893,755.37 May-11 36,479 $115,159012.77 June-11 33,568 $104,782,743.07 July-11 40,451 $123,981,011.36 Aug-11 35,575 $109,778,785.74 Sept-11 36,159 $109,990,042.36 Oct-11 27,269 $79,526,149.33 Nov-11 32,677 $100,272,851.46 Dec-11 38,447 $116,455,779.92
	2012
Jan-12	29,926	89,749,312.99
Feb-12	43,946	134,207,416.10

How Is She Supposed To Correct This?

     From WCNC:

Audrey Curry is a man, at least that’s what Social Security thinks. ...

Audrey was born a woman, she was married three times and her husbands’ will all vouch for her femininity.  Her kids, all four of them, know she’s a she, and her grandkids know Audrey as grandma, with an emphasis on the ‘ma.’

The only people who seem to be confused about the difference between men and women are the hims and hers at Social Security.

The “he” mistake happened back in 1985 during a marriage and a name change.  It only came to light now because Audrey qualifies for Medicare disability, coverage she says she needs.

“It’ll hold up my coverage, because when I go down there they say that my card says male, but I’m a female,” Curry said.  “I can’t get treated.”

All of her official documents say “she.”  But Social Security told Audrey it’s up to her to fix their mistake.

“Just say I am sorry, but no, they get snotty and say you have to go correct it. I don’t stand for that,” Curry added.

When NewsChannel 36 called Social Security’s regional office in Atlanta, they said this rarely happens and they said, “We will fix this for her.”  ...

Social Security Moving Towards Awarding Contracts For Occupational Information System

     This was posted yesterday on FedBizOpps.gov (and the question marks are in the original):

This is a REQUEST FOR INFORMATION. It is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations and in no way obligates the Government to award a contract.

The purpose of this Request for Information (RFI) from the Social Security Administration (SSA) is to identify potential vendors that are capable of assisting in researching and performing job analysis data collection and developing a comprehensive Occupational Information System (OIS). SSA is also seeking feedback from industry on processes under consideration. The information provided in response to this RFI will be used in SSA?s market research efforts and procurement planning purposes which include:? The availability and capability of potential sources;

? Assistance with appropriate acquisition strategy (e.g., one procurement for all requirements or more than one procurement based on specialty skills).

? The best methodologies and processes to use to accomplish our goals

      There's an "interested vendors" list that has only one name on it at the moment but that list will surely grow.

More On Possible Union Contract

     More on the possible new union contract for Social Security, from the Federal Times:

... [S]everal key subjects still have to be hammered out. AFGE [American Federation of Government Employees] said provisions covering merit promotions, teleworking and performance appraisals are still being negotiated and must be written into the contract by the end of June. ...

Monthly transit benefits, now $60, will increase to $70 in the contract's first year, $80 in its second year, and $90 in its fourth year, said Witold Skwierczynski, who led negotiations for AFGE.

The current $50 benefit for eye exams and up to $175 for eyeglasses will increase to $65 for an exam and $200 for glasses, he said.

Skwierczynski also said employees will get more rights to union representation when meeting with SSA managers. For example, the contract will require managers to orally remind employees that they have the right to union representation when they're called into a discussion that might lead to disciplinary action. Currently, SSA only has to publish a notice once a year on those rights, Skwierczynski said.

And the agreement contains language that says SSA will not tolerate bullying from managers. Skwierczynski said that gives the union "a foot in the door" to file grievances against managers who allegedly bully their employees.

Conceptual Agreement For New National Contract Between SSA And AFGE

     From a union press release:

After 27 months of negotiations, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and the Social Security Administration have reached a conceptual agreement for the terms of the new national contract. ... 

Negotiations between AFGE and SSA have been ongoing, two weeks every month, since December 2009. AFGE referred the bargaining to the Federal Service Impasses Panel in September 2011, in reaction to the lack of progress in national contract negotiations. The language for the new contract is conceptual and will be finalized by both AFGE and SSA management, then sent out for ratification by AFGE locals. Once the contract is ratified by AFGE and SSA, it will be valid for four years.

“We made improvements in eye care and travel benefits, strengthened employee rights in the workplace and allowed for the union to have broader ability to represent employees in meetings with SSA management,” explained AFGE Lead Negotiator Witold Skwierczynski. ...

A Question

     Do Social Security's online appeal forms include an option for requesting interim benefits for claimants appealing termination of disability benefits? To the best of my knowledge, Social Security never got around to devising a paper form for this purpose, leaving field offices to improvise. I was wondering if this problem has continued over to online appeals.

Delaware ALJs Draw Media Attention

     From some Delaware newspaper that wishes to hide its real name and call itself DelawareOnline in its web incarnation:

Delaware's federal legislators are asking the Social Security Administration to explain why disability cases heard by Dover judges are consistently denied at some of the highest rates in the country.

The agency's administrative law judges in Dover have denied 57 percent of the cases they've heard since October, compared to a national average of 41 percent, statistics show. It was the fifth-highest denial rate among the agency's 170 hearing offices. ...


Carol Moore, 57, of Bear, worked for more than 25 years as an administrative assistant before developing scleroderma, an autoimmune disorder, and Raynaud's phenomenon, a condition in which blood-vessel spasms block blood flow to the fingers, toes, ears and nose. Moore said she experiences swelling, joint pain and feelings of extreme cold. ...


After she was initially denied benefits six years ago, Moore appealed, and her case was heard by Dover Administrative Law Judge Judith Showalter, who dismissed her claims, Moore said. Showalter has denied 72 percent of the cases she's heard since October, the 27th-highest rate among the nation's 1,123 Social Security judges.

"She had no idea what the diseases were and didn't want to hear it," Moore said. "Nobody can stop her. She's not a doctor, but she can go beyond a doctor's diagnosis. How is one allowed to get away with that?"

Showalter did not respond to a request seeking comment for this story.

     If you think that scleroderma is just some trivial skin disease, think again. Scleroderma is also known as Progressive Systemic Sclerosis. Sclerosis means hardening, so the name means progressive systemic hardening -- and we're talking not just about hardening of the skin but of internal organs, like the heart, liver, lungs, kidneys, etc.and we're talking about real hardness, the kind of hardness that would shut down one of these organs. That doesn't sound like some minor skin disease, does it? Scleroderma is a very serious rheumatic condition that is often fatal. I've represented a number of clients with scleroderma over the years. I don't think I've ever lost one of these cases. A 57 year old claimant with scleroderma gets denied by an ALJ? That raises both of my eyebrows.