Be Careful What You Ask For

     I just uploaded a 500+ page medical report on one of my clients. This isn't unusual these days. Electronic medical records have led to explosive growth in the quantity of medical records. The hearing offices are drowning in medical records. Why do I have a feeling that Social Security's next Ruling will urgently demand that I not submit lengthy medical reports, that I somehow cull out what's not really important?

Acting Commissioner's Broadcast Message On Disasters

From: ^Commissioner Broadcast
Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2017 10:18 AM
Subject: Hurricane Maria and California Wildfires Update

A Message to All SSA Employees

Subject: Hurricane Maria and California Wildfires Update

Last Sunday, October 8, wildfires started in the Napa and Sonoma counties of California, quickly spreading to surrounding counties due to high winds.  Firefighters battled 17 separate and active wildfires.  At last count, these wildfires burned more than 221,000 acres and destroyed more than 3,500 homes and businesses, affecting thousands of individuals.  

Thankfully, all of the region’s employees are safe and accounted for.  Twenty-six employees are under mandatory evacuation and the fires destroyed one employee’s home.  Currently, two offices in the Napa and Sonoma areas remain closed; the fires have directly affected three other offices, resulting in short-term or intermittent closures.  There have been no reports of damage to any of the field offices in the impacted area.  This is a very fluid situation.  Please keep our colleagues in your prayers. 

In Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, some improvements have occurred.  Power continues to fluctuate, with 17 percent of the population now with power.  We opened the San Juan, San Patricio, and Caguas field offices to employees yesterday, for limited hours.  We anticipate opening these offices to the public today.  

We also opened the Mayaguez and San Juan hearing offices to employees as well yesterday.  We are working to begin rescheduling hearings in those offices.

A special thanks to personnel from the New York Regional office and the Office of the Inspector General, who are on site and have been helping employees in recovery efforts.

I will continue to keep you updated on the status of our employees and offices affected by these natural disasters as we try to restore our services to help those in need.

Nancy A. Berryhill

Acting Commissioner

Indictments In Conn Flight

      From the Lexington, KY Herald-Leader:

Disgraced former disability lawyer Eric C. Conn plotted his escape for a year before absconding from home detention weeks before he was to be sentenced in a massive fraud case, according to a federal indictment unsealed Monday.

The indictment levels new charges against Conn and Curtis Lee Wyatt, who worked for Conn at his law office in Stanville and allegedly tested security at the U.S. border with Mexico on Conn’s behalf. ...

The indictment charged that Wyatt, of Raccoon in Pike County, took a number of steps to help Conn escape, including opening a bank account in Wyatt’s name that Conn used to transfer money out of the country. ...

Wyatt also allegedly bought a 2002 Dodge Ram pickup truck from an unnamed seller in Somerset in May for $3,425, then delivered it to Conn in Lexington on June 1 for him to use in the escape. Wyatt had the truck registered under the name Disability Services LLC. ...

In the weeks leading up to the escape, Conn also had Wyatt use pedestrian entrances to Mexico at Nogales, Ariz., and Columbus, N.M., in order to test security procedures for people crossing into Mexico from the U.S., the indictment said.

The FBI found the truck in New Mexico. ...

The indictment also mentions an unindicted co-conspirator. That can refer to someone who is cooperating with authorities in a case. ...

Wyatt also allegedly played a role in trying to discredit an employee at the Social Security Administration who had tried to bring attention to potential improprieties by Conn and David B. Daugherty, an administrative law judge who rubber-stamped disability claims for Conn. Conn came up with a scheme to have his employees follow the woman, Sarah Carver, to try to discredit her by catching her not working from home on days when she was supposed to, according to sworn statements from other former Conn employees to U.S. Senate investigators. ...

     I've never crossed the U.S.-Mexico border. Don't the Mexican authorities ask to see a passport?

Why Are There So Many Disabiltiy Recipients In Kentucky?

     Dustin Pugel at KY Policy Blog has responded to the recent arguments from the Kentucky Disability Determination Service director about the increase in the number of Kentuckians drawing Social Security disability benefits. Here's a long excerpt:

While some argue the considerable increase in DI beneficiaries in Kentucky is the result of a deficient culture that doesn’t value work, the data does not support this.  The rise in DI beneficiaries in Kentucky — from 148,375 in 2000 to 203,471 in 2016 — might seem alarming, but it is actually closely related to demographic factors, including the aging of the large baby boomer population and the increase in the number of women in the workforce who have the paid work history to qualify for DI.

Older workers are simply more likely to become disabled, and there has been growth in the number of older workers as the baby boomers aged. The likelihood that a worker will collect DI doubles between ages 30 and 40, 40 and 50, and ages 50 and 60. In Kentucky, 76 percent of DI beneficiaries are between 50 and 64 years old.

Kentucky, like the nation as a whole, has been undergoing a swell of population in that age group as the youngest baby boomers began to turn 50 in the late 1990s.

• As a share of the state’s population, those 50-64, has increased 49 percent, from 13.6 percent in 1990 to 20.2 percent in 2016.
• The number of 50-64 year old Kentuckians has increased 79 percent, from 501,679 in 1990 to 896,268 in 2016

This also means, however, that we should expect the number of DI beneficiaries to decline as more boomers reach full retirement age – and out of eligibility for DI. And that is exactly what has been happening.

After rising for a number of years, DI enrollment in Kentucky has dropped every year since 2013.

Women have also become a larger share of the workforce and subsequently, a larger share have been paying into Social Security and begun to qualify for DI. This is why women have accounted for much of Kentucky’s growth in DI beneficiaries. In fact the number of men receiving DI in Kentucky grew 41 percent between 2000 and 2016, but women with DI benefits nearly doubled, at 95 percent.

Some point to Kentucky’s high number of DI beneficiaries compared to other states as a reason for concern. However, most of the variation among states can be largely explained by four factors: a less educated workforce, an older workforce, fewer immigrants (as most immigrants do not qualify for DI) and an industry-based economy (including mining) that involves more physical wear and tear. Kentucky ranks high in these categories compared to other states:

• 5 percent of Kentuckians aged 25 or older completed at least a high school degree (3rd worst in the U.S.).
• The median age in Kentucky is 38.5 years old (18th oldest in the U.S.).
• Only 3.1 percent of Kentuckians are foreign-born (6th lowest in the U.S.).
• 4 percent of Kentuckians work a blue collar job (14th highest in the U.S.).

This Is What Happens When There Aren't Enough Employees To Get The Work Done

There's also the problem that by the time they finally get to talk to someone they're really exasperated and hard to deal with.

Clarification On Third Party Assistance In Filing Claim

     This is from Social Security's Emergency Message EM-17032:

... A third party can help a claimant file for disability benefits by completing an iClaim for DIB or DIB/SSI. Once the third party submits the iClaim, the claimant receives an Internet Application Summary by mail to review, sign, and return to a field office (FO) or workload support unit (WSU). ...

     I post this -- and Social Security issued it -- because at times past some agency employees have felt it was improper, even illegal, for a third party, such as an attorney, to complete an online claim form at the behest of a claimant. This always seemed ridiculous to me but it must still make some sense to Social Security since they are still insisting that if a third party completes the online form, what has been filed is only a protective filing date until the claimant puts her or her "wet signature" on a piece of paper.
     I've often wondered whether someone could make a living just charging people a fee for helping them file their Social Security claims of all sorts; not representing them just helping them file claims. Social Security would probably try to hassle anyone who did this by insisting they get any fees they charge approved case by case even though there would be no real representation but should they? People need better help than they're getting from the Social Security Administration. Their employees do their best but the agency is understaffed and unable to deliver service at the level many people need.

2% COLA

     The Cost Of Living Adjustment (COLA) for Social Security for 2017 is 2%. This applies to benefits beginning December 2017. Payments for that month will be made in January 2018. Below is the entire list of 2018 adjustments announced at this time (you can click on it to view it full size:

There's No Mystery Why Backlogs Are Increasing