One Judge Holds Terminations Of Benefits For Eric Conn Clients Unconstitutional

     A United States District Court judge has held that Social Security's termination of disability benefits for Eric Conn's former clients is unconstitutional. Don't think this is resolved. Two other judges on the same court have upheld the terminations. The issue now heads to the Court of Appeals. Interestingly, the judge who found the terminations to be unconstitutional, Thapur, is on Donald Trump's announced list of possible Supreme Court nominees, not that he's likely to have a chance to use that list.

     I'm sorry to be so late posting this but I've been off the net while traveling.

New Somatoform Listing

     From Social Security's new mental impairment Listings effective January 17, 2017:

12.07 Somatic symptom and related disorders (see 12.00B6), satisfied by A and B

     A. Medical documentation of one or more of the following:

          1. Symptoms of altered voluntary motor or sensory function that are not better explained by another medical or mental disorder;

        2. One or more somatic symptoms that are distressing, with excessive thoughts, feelings, or behaviors related to the symptoms; or

      3. Preoccupation with having or acquiring a serious illness without significant symptoms present.

AND

     B. Extreme limitation of one, or marked limitation of two, of the following areas of mental functioning (see 12.00F):

          1. Understand, remember, or apply information (see 12.00E1).

          2. Interact with others (see 12.00E2).

          3. Concentrate, persist, or maintain pace (see 12.00E3).

          4. Adapt or manage oneself (see 12.00E4).

New Personality Disorder Listing

     From Social Security's new mental impairment Listings effective January 17, 2017:

12.08 Personality and impulse-control disorders (see 12.00B7), satisfied by A and B:

     A. Medical documentation of a pervasive pattern of one or more of the following:

          1. Distrust and suspiciousness of others;

          2. Detachment from social relationships;

          3. Disregard for and violation of the rights of others;

          4. Instability of interpersonal relationships;

          5. Excessive emotionality and attention seeking;

          6. Feelings of inadequacy;

          7. Excessive need to be taken care of;

          8. Preoccupation with perfectionism and orderliness; or

          9. Recurrent, impulsive, aggressive behavioral outbursts.

AND

     B. Extreme limitation of one, or marked limitation of two, of the following areas of mental functioning (see 12.00F):

          1. Understand, remember, or apply information (see 12.00E1).

          2. Interact with others (see 12.00E2).

          3. Concentrate, persist, or maintain pace (see 12.00E3).

          4. Adapt or manage oneself (see 12.00E4).

New Neurodevelopmental Listing

     From Social Security's new mental impairment Listings effective January 17, 2017:

12.11 Neurodevelopmental disorders (see 12.00B9), satisfied by A and B:

     A. Medical documentation of the requirements of paragraph 1, 2, or 3:

          1. One or both of the following:

           a. Frequent distractibility, difficulty sustaining attention, and difficulty organizing tasks; or

            b. Hyperactive and impulsive behavior (for example, difficulty remaining seated, talking excessively, difficulty waiting, appearing restless, or behaving as if being “driven by a motor”).

        2. Significant difficulties learning and using academic skills; or

       3. Recurrent motor movement or vocalization. [So in the original; must be typo. They only had a few years to work on it.]

AND

     B. Extreme limitation of one, or marked limitation of two, of the following areas of mental functioning (see 12.00F):

          1. Understand, remember, or apply information (see 12.00E1).

          2. Interact with others (see 12.00E2).

          3. Concentrate, persist, or maintain pace (see 12.00E3).

         4. Adapt or manage oneself (see 12.00E4).

Errors In Applying WEP

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

SSA [Social Security Administration] needs to improve its controls to ensure WEP [Windfall Elimination Provision] is timely and accurately applied for Federal pensions. We determined WEP should have been applied to 14 of the 250 beneficiaries sampled . We did not identify any beneficiaries for whom GPO should have been applied. Although SSA was aware these 14 beneficiaries had a government pension, the Agency did not reduce their benefit payments for WEP. The 14 beneficiaries received about $372,000 in overpayments. Based on our sample results , we estimate SSA overpaid about $129 million in Old-Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance benefits to about 4,900 beneficiaries.

If There's Another Side To This Story SSA Better Start Telling It

     From KOAT:

On Thursday, Congresswoman Michelle Lujan-Grisham walked into Albuquerque's Social Security Office, just like anyone else who needs help - but she said she didn’t receive a warm welcome and after an hour, was escorted from the building by federal officers. ...

 

The democratic representative was accompanying a 90-year-old woman to an appointment. 

She wanted to stay incognito - to see first-hand how the office is handling requests. In the past, Lujan-Grisham has criticized the local Social Security Administration for not offering a drop-off zone at its new downtown location. 

After an hour wait with the elderly woman, she said they got help but then got an alarming surprise. 

“Two armed officers show up, tap me,” Lujan-Grisham said during an interview with KOAT-TV Friday. “They challenge me about my access, they challenge me about my right to be there.” 

She said she told them like any citizen, she has a right to be there because it’s a public building, but they persisted. 

“They ask me to leave where I am,” Lujan-Grisham said. “They want to escort me and have a conversation with me.” 

After a few more minutes, Lujan-Grisham said the officers booted her from the building.

“It was purposeful, it was deliberate,” Lujan-Grisham said. 

She’s spent the last day trying to get an explanation from the Social Security Administration and from Federal Protective Services, a division of the Department of Homeland Security, with no luck. 

No one from either agency returned phone calls and emails KOAT either on Friday. ...

New Childhood Listings For Depression, Bipolar And Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder

     From Social Security's new mental impairment Listings for children:

112.04 Depressive, bipolar and related disorders (see 112.00B3), for children age 3 to attainment of age 18, satisfied by A and B, or A and C: 

     A. Medical documentation of the requirements of paragraph 1, 2, or 3: 

          1. Depressive disorder, characterized by five or more of the following:

               a. Depressed or irritable mood; 

               b. Diminished interest in almost all activities; 

              c. Appetite disturbance with change in weight (or a failure to achieve an expected weight gain); 

               d. Sleep disturbance; 

               e. Observable psychomotor agitation or retardation; 

               f. Decreased energy; 

               g. Feelings of guilt or worthlessness; 

               h. Difficulty concentrating or thinking; or

              i. Thoughts of death or suicide. 

          2. Bipolar disorder, characterized by three or more of the following: 

               a. Pressured speech; 

               b. Flight of ideas; 

              c. Inflated self-esteem; 

              d. Decreased need for sleep; 

              e. Distractibility; 

            f. Involvement in activities that have a high probability of painful consequences that are not recognized; or

              g. Increase in goal-directed activity or psychomotor agitation. 

         3. Disruptive mood dysregulation disorder, beginning prior to age 10, and all of the following: 

               a. Persistent, significant irritability or anger; 

               b. Frequent, developmentally inconsistent temper outbursts; and 

               c. Frequent aggressive or destructive behavior. 

     AND 

     B. Extreme limitation of one, or marked limitation of two, of the following areas of mental functioning (see 112.00F): 

          1. Understand, remember, or apply information (see 112.00E1). 

          2. Interact with others (see 112.00E2). 

          3. Concentrate, persist, or maintain pace (see 112.00E3). 

          4. Adapt or manage oneself (see 112.00E4). 

     OR 

     C. Your mental disorder in this listing category is ‘‘serious and persistent;’’ that is, you have a medically documented history of the existence of the disorder over a period of at least 2 years, and there is evidence of both: 

          1. Medical treatment, mental health therapy, psychosocial support(s), or a highly structured setting(s) that is ongoing and that diminishes the symptoms and signs of your mental disorder (see 112.00G2b); and 

          2. Marginal adjustment, that is, you have minimal capacity to adapt to changes in your environment or to demands that are not already part of your daily life (see 112.00G2c).

NRA Does Its Thing

     According to a recent report by Social Security's Office of Inspector General (OIG), the agency received 90,920 comments on the recent Rule-Making proposal to have the agency report the names of individuals who have been assigned a representative payee to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, where it could be used to prevent individuals from purchasing firearms. The agency must go through all of these comments. I'm sure that the vast majority are nothing more than the repetition of National Rifle Association talking points but it's still a huge number of comments to go through, by far the most in Social Security's history. I can predict that without a lot of pressure from the White House, this one will go on the back burner.