Are More Claimants Now Refusing Video Hearings?

     Since Social Security's changed its regulations to require claimants to make a decision on whether to accept a video hearing shortly after asking for a hearing -- and long before the hearing is actually scheduled -- I've heard from a number of attorneys in North Carolina who tell me that they are now routinely refusing video hearings. I've heard from many of my clients who have received these notices who tell me that they want to refuse a video hearing. If attorneys and claimants are behaving the same in other states as they appear to me to be doing in North Carolina this change will dramatically cut the number of video hearings. There is some evidence that this is going on nationally.

     What are you seeing where you are? Are there any national numbers yet? Has Social Security management started coming to grips with the possibility that these new regulations will have the exact opposite effect of what was intended?

Social Security Tries To Find Pro Bono Rep Payees

     A press release from Social Security:

Carolyn W. Colvin, Acting Commissioner of Social Security, announced the agency’s implementation of a pro bono pilot in Maryland for attorneys interested in being a representative payee for a Social Security beneficiary. Representative payees provide crucial help to the most vulnerable individuals in our community with their Social Security and Supplemental Security Income payments.

“The Maryland Representative Payee Pro Bono Pilot offers attorneys a chance to fulfill the Court of Appeals’ aspirational goal of providing pro bono services – by assisting the young, elderly, and disabled with their Social Security benefits,” Acting Commissioner Colvin said. “Attorneys are held to high ethical standards and will serve this at-risk population with the compassion and integrity they deserve.”

Any licensed Maryland attorney in good standing can volunteer for this pilot project by registering at www.socialsecurity.gov/payee/probonopilot.htm. Social Security will use the information provided to connect interested attorneys with beneficiaries in need of the services. The Maryland pilot will expand the network of available candidates to help assist those in need.  “The Pro Bono Resource Center of Maryland supports the new pilot project and looks forward to working with the Social Security Administration in promoting this important opportunity to assist vulnerable individuals to the Maryland legal community,” stated Sharon E. Goldsmith, Executive Director of PBRC.  PBRC serves as the designated pro bono arm of the Maryland State Bar Association.

Representative payees provide a key service to Social Security recipients who are unable to manage their benefits. Nearly 21 percent of people who need help managing their payments do not have family members or trusted friends who can help them. Payees receive monthly payments on behalf of the beneficiary and use the funds to meet the individual’s basic needs such as food, clothing, and shelter. They also keep records and ensure that Social Security funds are used to care for the recipient. Once the pilot is successful in Maryland, the agency will consider expanding to states nationwide.

Acting Commissioner Colvin reinforced that “representative payees play a vital role in serving our beneficiaries and creating a stable living environment for the most vulnerable people in our society. I encourage eligible Maryland attorneys to participate in this pilot.”

Are You Sure About Your Position On This One, Social Security?

     From the Providence Journal:

A Warwick widow has filed a lawsuit against the Social Security Administration accusing the federal agency of wrongfully denying her survivor benefits after she lost her 56-year-old wife to cancer in 2011.

The plaintiff, Deborah Tevyaw, 58, was married to her late wife, Patricia Baker, in 2005 in Massachusetts, but the federal agency says the relationship ended in 2011, before Governor Chafee ordered state agencies to recognize same-sex marriage in May 2012, according to the lawsuit filed Monday in U.S. District Court.

Rhode Island has recognized out-of-state marriages, including marriages in Massachusetts, since at least 1904, and in 2007 the state’s attorney general issued an opinion stating that same-sex marriages from other states “must be recognized under principles of comity and full faith and credit,” says the complaint.

In July this year, Governor Chafee wrote the acting commissioner of the Social Security Administration, Carolyn W. Colvin, to express his concern that the federal agency had misinterpreted the 2012 date as the date when Rhode Island first recognized out-of-state same-sex marriages, the complaint says.

Petition Demands That Social Security Offices Remain Open

     From a press release:

On Thursday, October 2, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) [which represents most Social Security employees] will join Social Security Works and the Alliance for Retired Americans in four cities across the country to unveil a petition with half-a-million signatures demanding that Social Security offices remain open in local communities across the U.S. ...

The events on Thursday, October 2, are below:

Columbus, OH – 10:30 a.m. EDT at 200 N High St Columbus OH 43215 (Federal building) 
Speakers: Norm Wernet, Ohio Alliance for Retired Americans
John Ryan, Ohio State Director for U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown

Queens, NY – 11 a.m. EDT at 155-10 Jamaica Ave, Jamaica NY 11435
Speakers: J. David Cox, AFGE National President

Washington, D.C.—1:30 p.m. EDT at 2100 M St NW, Washington DC 20037
Speakers: Rich Fiesta, Alliance for Retired Americans
Roger Hickey, Campaign for America’s Future
Carissa Miller, Daily Kos

Oakland, CA – 11 a.m. PDT at 360 22^nd St Oakland CA 94612
Speakers: Dana Duggins, AFGE Council 220 Executive Vice President
Leaders from the California Alliance for Retired Americans
Local residents with personal stories about the impact of office closings

ACUS Seeks Consultant

     From a Request for Proposals issued by the Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS):

The Administrative Conference is seeking a consultant or consultants to undertake a research project that will study federal court review of social security disability insurance and supplemental security income cases and make related recommendations. ... 
The study should : 

• Review and analyze the Social Security Act, as well as SSA’s implementing regulations, policies, and practices for adjudicating social security disability claims, including the standards of appellate review. Relevant academic literature should also be reviewed and analyzed. 
• Evaluate federal court interpretations and applications of SSA’s rules and regulations governing social security disability claims, noting patterns that show consistencies or inconsistencies among appellate and district courts. 
• Survey federal court practices and procedures for handling social security cases — including the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and local rules and policies of individual federal courts — to identify varying approaches and differential impacts. 
• Examine SSA’s acquiescence rulings and how the agency applies decisions of federal appellate courts that are at variance with SSA’s national policies. 
• Survey or interview federal officials responsible for defending the agency’s litigation or administering its programs, as well as judges and lawyers, as appropriate. Given the breadth of the potential research, project submissions should offer concrete substantive proposals to address these topics and frame the scope of work. ...

     Hint to anyone wanting to submit a proposal: Paul Verkuil, the chairman of ACUS, has been calling for an Article I Social Security court for many years. Another hint: Verkuil seems to exhibit a concern that too many claims for Social Security disability benefits are being approved. A third hint: Harold Krent might have the inside track to get this contract.

More Security Needed For Mobile Devices

     From a recent report by Social Security's Office of Inspector General (footnote omitted):

We determined that SSA’s mobile device security did not always conform with Federal standards and business best practices to mitigate unauthorized access to the Agency’s sensitive information.  SSA did not adequately secure all of its mobile devices, potentially putting Agency data at risk. For example, while SSA stated it had mitigating controls to encrypt files copied to a device, we successfully copied a file to a mobile device without encryption occurring. We believe this occurred because SSA did not have a comprehensive, consolidated policy on mobile device, lacked configuration guides for all mobile devices, and provided minimal mobile device security training .

Ribbon Cutting Ceremony At New National Data Center

     Social Security held a ribbon cutting ceremony yesterday at its new National Data Center but it won't be fully staffed until August 2016. Bill Zielinski, Social Security's Chief Information Officer, told a reporter that the project came in under the $500 million that was budgeted for the project but couldn't say how much it did cost. Zielinski didn't see another question coming after telling a reporter that the project came in under budget?

When A Miss Becomes A Mrs.

     It's slow in Social Security News these days. Nobody wants to say or do anything interesting with an election coming.