Obamacare May Be Reducing Number Of Disability Claims In Arkansas

     From Modern Healthcare:

The number of Arkansas residents signing up for federal disability benefits has dropped 19% since October 2013, which some state officials are attributing to expanded Medicaid eligibility....

Arkansas is providing subsidies to individuals with incomes up to 138% of the federal poverty threshold to purchase private health plans through the exchange, a model of expansion that several other Republican-controlled states are following. More than 190,000 Arkansas residents qualified for the expanded coverage through the end of July.  

State Sen. Jonathan Dismang, a Republican who was one of the architects of the “private option” plan, said that he and his colleagues had hoped that expanding Medicaid would reduce the disability rolls. “It's too early to say with any certainty that that's the case,” Dismang said. “I think that there's an indication that there has been an impact.”

Union Schedules Rally To Oppose Field Office Cuts

     From a press release issued by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), the union that represents most employees of the Social Security Administration:

Hundreds of union activists from the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) will rally at the Minneapolis Social Security Field Office Wednesday, Aug. 27 to shed light on the Social Security Administration’s plan to close virtually every field office in Minnesota and across the country ...
When: 3:00 p.m. CDT Wednesday, August 27
Where: Minneapolis SSA Field Office; 1811 Chicago Ave, Minneapolis, Minn.
Speakers:

• AFGE National President J. David Cox Sr.
• House Democratic Whip Rep. Steny Hoyer
• Senator Al Franken (Invited)
• U.S. Representative Rick Nolan
• U.S. Representative Keith Ellison (Invited)
• U.S. Representative Betty McCollum (Invited)
• Minneapolis Social Security Beneficiary Marie Milsten-Fiedler
• Labor activists and Social Security employees who provide vital public services

Initial And Reconsideration Allowance Rates

This is from the National Organization of Social Security Claimants Representatives (NOSSCR) which got it, I'm sure, from the Social Security Administration.

Top Ten List

     Monique Morrissey of the Economic Policy Institute posts her list of top ten myths about Social Security.

The Irony

Maybe someday we'll laugh at the irony — SSA cuts staff and office hours, just as the Boomers arrive and workload skyrockets.

--Andy Landis, the author of a book on Social Security, quoted in USA Today 

Update On Prosecutions In New York

     The New York Times has an update on the prosecutions in the alleged scheme by 136 people to defraud Social Security by feigning mental disability.  None of these cases have gone to trial. Eighty-seven of the accused have pleaded guilty to grand larceny and most of those were given probation in return for promising to return the money. Charges against eight were recently dismissed at the request of the District Attorney since those individuals might actually have been mentally ill.

Union Concerned About Online Services

     From a press release issued by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), a union which represents most Social Security employees:

The Social Security Administration has launched a new social media campaign that asks beneficiaries to plan for their ‘#Someday’ retirement dreams by registering for an account on the mySocialSecurity website but neglects to disclose that the website comes at the expense of face-to-face customer service and that it may open users to fraud.

“According to the Social Security Administration, fully one-third of the people attempting to access the website fail to successfully register,” said Witold Skwierczynski, President of the National Council of Social Security Field Operations Locals. “However, the website’s issues are more troubling than simply a poor customer experience.”

Skwierczynski attributed the high failure rate on the website to Experian Credit Corporation which is responsible for providing security for transactions on the site. Users must answer a series of complicated questions about their personal finances, distinguish between real and fake information, recall minute details of their credit history and have knowledge of their astrological sign.

It’s an overly cumbersome and difficult process to navigate and is also vulnerable to identity theft and fraud. An Experian subsidiary, as recently as 2013, was being investigated for either having lost or sold the same type of login information to a Vietnamese crime ring. Skwierczynski said that there is already evidence of identity theft and fraud at SSA, as the Office of Inspector General stated it received 37,000 reports from various sources concerning questionable changes to a beneficiary’s record.

Someday

     From WKZO in Washington:

A new public relations campaign is being launched by the Social Security administration. The Someday campaign, as it's being called, will include TV and radio public service announcements, reminding young people of the importance of planning for retirement. Most experts will tell you that Social Security benefits alone won't make for the greatest retirement, and the Someday campaign is trying to get that message across to those who think the least about preparing for their golden years, young people. The Social Security Administration's Vonda VanTil says you'll probably be seeing some ads soon.

"We have some fantastic PSAs that are coming out for the TV and radio, and they're really, really funny and fun to go along with this idea that, someday, you're going to wish that you did a little bit of planning," VanTil told WKZO. "As we all know, the older we get, the more we wish that we had done a little bit of better planning, whether it's for retirement, or anything else for that matter."