Why Medicare And Not Social Security?

     From 42 U.S.C. § 1395ff(d)(1)(A), having to do with Medicare appeals:

Except as provided in subparagraph (B), an administrative law judge shall conduct and conclude a hearing on a decision of a qualified independent contractor under subsection (c) of this section and render a decision on such hearing by not later than the end of the 90-day period beginning on the date a request for hearing has been timely filed.

     You might ask why there is a time limit on Medicare appeals and no time limit on Social Security appeals, most of which linger for well over a year. The answer is simple. The Medicare appeals are filed by medical providers. They have political clout. Social Security claimants don't. In fairness, the medical providers have had trouble enforcing the section of statute I've quoted above but they're just gotten a decision indicating that the courts may be willing to enforce the time limit language.

The Human Costs

Donna Dye, a former client of Eric Conn

     The Associated Press is reporting on the human costs of Social Security's big effort to cut off the disability benefits of Eric Conn's former clients. All along it's seemed that the hundreds of people involved were no more than ciphers to those who were so eager to label them as frauds, cut off their benefits and stack the deck against them. The question I've had all along has been why is Social Security going to such lengths to hurt these people when the agency admits they did nothing wrong. It's perfectly obvious at ground level that these folks are sick and most would have won without any of Eric Conn's alleged shenanigans.

"Take A Number, Please"

     From an editorial in the Des Moines Register:

It’s the stuff of nightmares: Permanently injured in an auto accident, you lose your ability to work and must apply for disability benefits.

Faced with mounting medical bills, as well as the usual expenses for groceries and rent, you go to your local Social Security Administration office to secure desperately needed federal disability benefits.

You approach the counter, see a sign advising you to “Take a number, please,” and you comply. The receptionist calls out, “Number six?” You look at the slip of paper in your hand and realize you are number 1,136,849.

You ask the receptionist how long you’ll have to wait. She smiles broadly and cheerfully responds, “Thanks for stopping by! Your disability claim is important to us! The average wait time is currently 19 months and 22 days!” ...

Unfortunately, this nightmare scenario is based on a stark reality now faced by many disabled Americans. ...

When it was revealed that 200 veterans may have died in 2015 while waiting for care at an Arizona Veterans’ Administration hospital, Congress wasted no time scheduling hearings and proposing legislative fixes to address that problem. The SSA’s case backlog has grown for years and affects a much broader segment of the population, yet the outrage, if it exists at all, is muted. ...

Christmas Is Over

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas

I.R.S. Drops Coal In The Stockings Of Poor Disabled People

     From the Washington Post:

The Treasury Department refuse[d] to stop forcing permanently disabled people to pay taxes on student loans that have been canceled, leaving a vulnerable population susceptible to thousands of dollars in charges, according to Senate staffers.

 Anyone with a severe disability is eligible to have the government discharge their federal student loans. The process is widely considered difficult to navigate, so the Obama administration allows people to use their Social Security designation to apply, yet few take advantage. As a result, the Education Department began identifying borrowers too disabled to repay their federal loans and guiding them through debt cancellation. The trouble is, every dollar forgiven by the government is considered taxable income.

Congressional lawmakers have urged Treasury to use its administrative authority to fix the problem, but the department is not taking action.

At a meeting Wednesday, Treasury officials informed Senate staffers that it will not issue guidance addressing the tax penalty for disabled borrowers, according to people in attendance who were not authorized to speak publicly. They said Treasury officials conceded that roughly two thirds of affected borrowers are insolvent, a designation that would allow Treasury to waive any taxes connected to discharged loans. Claiming insolvency, however, involves complex paperwork. ...