Way Off Topic

From the Associated Press:

A contestant in a roach-eating contest who downed dozens of live bugs and worms collapsed and died shortly after winning the contest in South Florida, authorities say.

About 30 contestants ingested the insects during Friday night's contest at Ben Siegel Reptile Store in Deerfield Beach about 40 miles north of Miami. The grand prize was a python. ...

Authorities were awaiting results of an autopsy to determine a cause of death.

No End Of Controversies With Death Master File

     From the New York Times:

A shift last year by the Social Security Administration to limit access to its death records amid concerns about identity theft is beginning to hamper a broad swath of research, including federal government assessments of hospital safety and financial industry efforts to spot consumer fraud. 

For example, a research group that produces reports on organ-transplant survival rates is facing delays because of the extra work it must do to determine whether patients are still alive.  ...

For a decade, the Social Security master file routinely included records provided by the states. But last year, after reports that the widespread availability of death records was facilitating identity theft, the Social Security Administration determined it had been improperly releasing the state records as part of the public master file....

Mark Hinkle, a spokesman for the Social Security Administration, said researchers simply would have to collect the data from the states.

“I don’t want to sound offensive,” Mr. Hinkle said. “But our job is to administer the Social Security program, and administering a death list really isn’t in our core set of workloads. The bottom line is that we have to follow the laws and administer the programs we’re supposed to administer.”

ALJ Dodds Passes

     I regret to report that Administrative Law Judge Ralph Dodds of Raleigh has passed away.

ERE Down

     I have received multiple reports that Social Security's Electronic Records Express service is down this morning. It was supposed to have been down for repairs until 5:00 a.m. Come on, guys -- most of the country doesn't take off for Columbus Day!

Updated Fee Payment Numbers

     Below are updated numbers on payments of fees to attorneys and others for representing Social Security claimants, primarily disability claimants. These fees are processed by the Social Security Administration but come out of the back benefits of the claimants involved. The attorneys and others who receive the fees pay a user fee for the costs of withholding and paying these fees.

Fee Payments
Month/Year	Volume	Amount
Jan-12	29,926	89,749,312.99
Feb-12	43,946	134,207,416.10
Mar-12	47,376	139,571,577.57
Apr-12	38,239	113,225,483.07
May-12	37,648	112,446,283.39
June-12	43,816	128,559,225.66
July-12	33,342	97,458,955.82
Aug-12	41,441	119,484,061.59
Sept-12	38,393	115,676,630.23

Social Security Checks Stolen From The Mail?

    According to a Memphis television station, a group of Social Security checks has been stolen from the U.S. Postal Service. Not delayed or misplaced but stolen. The report is that the Postal Inspector General is saying that it does not yet know what happened to the checks and is investigating.

I Don't Think What The President Said Is Close To Being Accurate

    President Obama, speaking at Wednesday nights' Presidential debate:

You know, I suspect that, on Social Security, we've got a somewhat similar position. Social Security is structurally sound. It's going to have to be tweaked the way it was by Ronald Reagan and Speaker -- Democratic Speaker Tip O'Neill. But it is -- the basic structure is sound.

     Social Security supporters reactions included words and phrases such as "very distressing", "serious damage", "jaw dropped" and "dumbfounded."

Further Reductions In Field Office Hours

     From the Federal Times:

Social Security Administration field offices are again trimming the hours they are open to the public due to tight budgets, a top administrator told employees in a Wednesday email.

Starting Nov. 19, all 1,233 offices will close to customers 30 minutes earlier, Mary Glenn-Croft, deputy SSA commissioner for operations, said in the email. As of Jan. 2, the offices will close to the public at noon on Wednesdays, she said.

This is the second time the agency has been forced to trim office hours because of budget considerations. SSA trimmed public office hours at its offices by 30 minutes in August 2011. ...

SSA spokeswoman Kia Green said the shift is “part of normal operations” under the six-month continuing resolution signed last week by President Obama. That stop-gap spending bill leaves SSA operating with “significantly” less money than either the agency or the Obama administration requested, Green said.