New Effort On Fraudulent Calls

     From a press release:

The Inspector General for the Social Security Administration, Gail S. Ennis, and Commissioner of Social Security Andrew Saul announce the launch of a dedicated online form at https://oig.ssa.gov to receive reports from the public of Social Security-related scams. These scams—in which fraudulent callers mislead victims into making cash or gift card payments to avoid arrest for purported Social Security number problems—skyrocketed over the past year to become the #1 type of fraud reported to the Federal Trade Commission and the Social Security Administration. 

To combat these scams, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) will use the new online form to capture data that will be analyzed for trends and commonalities. The OIG will use the data to identify investigative leads, which could help identify criminal entities or individuals participating in or facilitating the scams. Ultimately, these efforts are expected to disrupt the scammers, helping reduce this type of fraud as well as the number of victims. ...

Some People Are So Stupid

     From the Mercury News:

An employee in a Social Security Administration office and her husband have been indicted in federal court on charges that they stole nearly $45,000 in social security funds intended for others, according to court documents released Monday.

Kimberly Dominguez and her husband, Erick Dominguez, are accused of conspiring to commit wire fraud by diverting funds received by Social Security recipients into accounts they controlled, authorities said. The indictment was executed in the Northern District of California.

According to court documents, Kimberly Dominguez used her employment with the SSA’s Oakland Teleservice Center to access SSA databases and divert the direct deposits. She and Erick withdrew that money from their own accounts and used it, the indictment alleged. ...

Another Possible Reason Why The Number Of Disability Claims Started Declining In 2011

     From The Role of Information in Disability Insurance Application: An Analysis of the Social Security Statement Phase-In by Philip Armour published in the American Economic Journal in August 2018:

This paper exploits a natural experiment in information provision on US Disability Insurance (DI) applications: the Social Security statement. Although the effect of the statement on DI application was negligible in the general health and retirement study population, among those previously reporting a work limitation, biennial DI application rates approximately doubled. This effect was driven by previously uninformed individuals. Additional analyses show these were new applicants and were no less likely to be accepted onto DI, accounting for a substantial fraction of the rise in DI rolls from 1994 to 2004 and indicating the importance of informational frictions in disability policymaking.

     I know this study is dealing with an earlier time period but there have been changes in Social Security's mailing of benefit statements. Since the beginning of 2017, the statements are only sent to those who are already at least 60 and not drawing benefits. Between 2011 and September 2014, the agency sent out no benefit statements at all. Between October 2014 and the end of 2016 the benefit statements were sent out but only every five years. However, prior to 2011 the benefit statements were sent out annually to everybody over 25. The decline in the number of disability claims began in 2011 just when the mailing of benefit statements ended. The benefit statements have since resumed but only in a very limited way. 

     Correlation isn't causation but this is certainly suggestive.

SSI Income And Resources Rules Need Fixing And ABLE Isn't The Solution

     From Robert Farrington, writing for the Washington Post:

Living with a disability comes with all kinds of challenges, but the financial impact of being unable to work can be absolutely devastating. Imagine not being able to support yourself due to your disability, but also not being able to save money so you can continue qualifying for government aid including Supplemental Security Income (SSI).

To qualify for SSI, your countable resources must not be worth more than $2,000 for an individual or $3,000 for a couple. No matter how you cut it, that’s not very much.

This situation creates a kind of forced poverty for many individuals with a disability and the family members who care for them. But many experts say that the 529 ABLE Account, which was first introduced in 2014, can help curb this ongoing problem. ...

Contribution limits are extremely generous. With a 529 ABLE Account, individuals with disabilities are able to save up to $15,000 per year in 2019. On top of that, a designated beneficiary who works can contribute their income up to the poverty line for a one-person household, notes the IRS. ...

     SSI income and resources rules are barbaric so we create a loophole so the well to do can help their disabled family members. I've got a better idea. Why don't we just make the SSI income and resource rules less barbaric so every family can benefit! I think the illustration that the Post picked for this column -- a pretty blonde girl who's a double amputee -- pretty much sums up what's going on with ABLE.

Cue The Aggie Jokes

     From the Texas A&M student newspaper:

Texas A&M management senior Adriana Lopez received a scam call on Oct. 24 that ultimately led to her losing $10,000. Lopez said she hopes these events will show other students to be more cautious about who they give their information to.

Lopez said the beginning of this ordeal started with a person on the phone who claimed to work for Social Security whose phone number appeared to be the same as the Social Security Administration. This person said someone was buying drugs in Latin America using her name and Social Security number, and he threatened Lopez with time in jail if she did not do something to solve this problem. ...

Proposed Regs On CDRs

     Social Security will publish proposed regulations on the frequency of continuing disability reviews in the Federal Register on Monday. You can read the proposal today.

     They propose to add a new category, Medical Improvement Likely (MIL), to be reviewed every two years. MIL is aimed at a group of impairments which they say fit between the categories of Medical Improvement Expected (MIE) and Medical Improvement Possible (MIP). They say they will include anxiety related disorders in this category. I don't understand that. Anxiety disorders don't respond well to treatment. Panic disorders, the most commonly disabling anxiety disorder, are quite unresponsive to treatment.

     They propose to increase the frequency of reviews for the category of Medical Improvement Not Expected (MINE) from seven years to six years.

     Overall, they expect to increase Continuing Disability Review (CDRs) by more than 1.1 million a year.

     I love how this is all couched in language about helping people get back to work. That's baloney.  Disability benefits recipients already have plenty of incentives to return to work. Some people who are cut off benefits return to work; many don't. This certainly doesn't help anyone return to work.

     This is just a proposal. The public can comment. Social Security must review the comments. Once the agency is finished reviewing the comments and making any changes they want to make, it has to go back to the Office of Management and Budget for review before publication as final regulations. This process may extend past the next inauguration day. Even if pushed out before that date, an incoming Administration may decide not to implement them.

Win For NTEU On Telework

     The Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) has given the union (NTEU) that represents attorneys and decision writers in its Office of Hearings Operations (OHO) a win on telework. Social Security unilaterally terminated its contract with the union and refused to agree to terms requiring telework. FLRA ruled that Social Security had failed to produce evidence to back up its case and ruled for the union.

Bonus For Promptness

     From Emergency Message EM-19032:

This emergency message (EM) provides instructions on how to handle inquiries from a one-time notice that was sent to correctional and mental health reporters and facilities.

On October 25, 2019, SSA mailed a one-time notice to participating correctional and mental health reporters and facilities to inform them of a change to Title XVI incentive payments. This letter is a follow-up and reminder sent to the original notice we previously sent to correctional and mental health reporters on July 2, 2018. ...

The new Title XVI incentive payment rules provide the following:

For every Title XVI recipient we suspend due to the inmate information provided, we will pay the institution:

· $400 for information received within 15 days of the confinement; or

· $200 for information received after 15 days but within 90 days after confinement. ...