Going To Hell In A Handbasket

     Below is Social Security's Hearings Caseload Analysis Report for the first nine months of fiscal year (FY) 2016, which began on October 1, 2015. This was published in the newsletter of the National Organization of Social Security Claimants Representatives (NOSSCR). That newsletter is not available online.

     Here are some signs of just how badly things are going:

• The adjusted case receipts for the nine month time period were 746,300. The dispositions were 662,522. This means they were only able to handle 89% of the workload they received.
• They had 977,736 cases pending at the beginning of the FY and 1,121,267 cases pending as of the end of June (actually June 24, which the agency treats as the end of June). That's a 15% increase in the backlog.
• Look at the bizarre stops and starts in overtime. It went from 109.75 hours in November 2015 to 48,924.74 hours in December but then declined to 85.5 hours in March. Why? Social Security surges its overtime as soon as it gets an appropriation. That number then rapidly declines as the money starts to run out. It's boom or bust.
• Take a look at the note at the bottom. The Senior Attorney program only disposed of 732 cases in this nine month period! This is ridiculous. It's less than the productivity you'd get from two Administrative Law Judges. That number of Senior Attorney decisions could be multiplied by 100 without having causing harm. All that would happen is that the sickest claimants, the ones who will certainly be approved anyway, would be approved more quickly. The Senior Attorney program has been subjected to such extreme limitations that it cannot function. It's a waste of resources. Don't tell me that agency management cares about the backlog. They know well that the Senior Attorney program could be a huge help in holding down backlogs but they either don't care or they're adopted the attitude of many Congressional Republicans that the only good disposition of a Social Security disability claim is a denial.

Click on report to view full size

Listings Extended

     From today's Federal Register:

We are extending the expiration dates of the following body systems in the Listing of Impairments (listings) in our regulations: Musculoskeletal System, Cardiovascular System, Digestive System, and Skin Disorders. We are making no other revisions to these body systems in this final rule.

Proposed Regs On Representatives Coming Soon

     Social Security's proposed Rules of Conduct and Standards of Responsibility for Appointed Representatives have already cleared the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). It only took a little over a month. Some change was made in the proposal while it was pending at OMB but we'll probably never know what. The proposed regs should appear in the Federal Register in the near future. Remember, it's just proposed regulations.

     By contrast, the final regs that would change the mental impairment Listings are still pending at OMB. They were submitted on May 23.

     

    

Two Factor Identification Not Working Well So Far

     As of yesterday Verizon customers couldn't receive the text messages they need to access Social Security's online systems.

Being Disabled Often Means Being Poor

Not Just For Old Folks

New Security Requirements

     From Social Security:

The Social Security Administration (SSA) has added an extra layer of security for our customers when they interact with us online using the my Social Security suite of services. my Social Security account holders are required to use their cell phone, in addition to their username and password, as an additional authentication factor during online registration and every sign in. 

We implemented multifactor authentication (MFA) to comply with Executive Order 13681, which requires federal agencies to provide more secure authentication for their online services. We are committed to using the best technologies and standards available to protect our customers’ data. MFA is just one of the ways we ensure the safety and security of the resources entrusted to us. Since we launched my Social Security in May 2012, we have provided this added security of MFA as an option to our customers.

Now, all new and current my Social Security account holders will need to provide a cell phone number able to receive text messages. People will not be able to access their personal my Social Security account if they do not have a cell phone or do not wish to provide the cell phone number. We expect to provide additional options in the future, dependent upon requirements of national guidelines currently being revised.

     Don't anybody tell Social Security that it's possible to get text messages without a cell phone. 

A Social Security Casebook

     There's old saying that law school isn't set up to teach people the law. It's set up to teach people how to think like a lawyer. This won't make much sense to you if you're not a lawyer but, trust me, it does make sense to anyone who's gone through law school only to realize that they really didn't know much about the law. Given that the focus of law school has more to do with modes of thinking and less with the practical aspects of practicing, you'd expect that Social Security law wouldn't be taught much and you'd be right. However, some law schools do teach the subject. Professor Jon Dubin of Rutgers Law School was kind enough to send me a copy of a Social Security casebook that he and Frank Bloch, Emeritus Professor at Vanderbilt Law School, put together. Actually, this is at least the second edition of the book. It's quite good. I would recommend it to anyone learning Social Security law. 

     I have to say that looking at the price of the book brought home to me how long it's been since I was in law school. I think I remember casebooks being about $30-$40 back then but, of course, we were studying by whale oil lamps back then!