Social Security is publishing final rules tomorrow on Setting the Manner for the Appearance of Parties and Witnesses at a Hearing. The ability to opt out of video hearings is preserved.
Dec 17, 2019
Dec 16, 2019
A Brutal Game Of Chance
From the Post & Courier of Charleston, SC:
Sick and injured workers face a brutal game of chance when they apply for federal disability benefits: their odds hinge as much on the judge they are assigned as on the facts of their case. ...
Draw one particular Charleston-area judge and the odds of winning benefits will be worse than almost anywhere else. That judge, Tammy Georgian, was the second-toughest in the country in the 2019 fiscal year, approving only 12 percent of her cases. ...
If you saw Judge Jim Scott [of the same office] in 2018, you had an 87 percent chance of winning. ...
I can tell you there’s no way an ALJ can get to a 12% reversal rate honestly. You have to be guided almost completely by your personal political and social beliefs rather than the law and the facts.
There’s only so much the agency can do about brutal Administrative Law Judges such as Tammy Georgian. The thing is that Georgian is the Chief Administrative Law Judge in the North Charleston Office. They can’t easily fire aberrant ALJs but they don’t have to make them the Chief ALJ for a hearing office.
Dec 15, 2019
Dec 14, 2019
Dec 13, 2019
Opposition To Proposed Rule On Continuing Disability Reviews
From the Philadelphia Inquirer:
The Trump administration is proposing changes to Social Security that could terminate disability payments to hundreds of thousands of Americans, particularly older people and children.
The new rule would change aspects of disability reviews — the methods by which the Social Security Administration determines whether a person continues to qualify for benefits. Few recipients are aware of the proposal, which is open for public comment through January. ...
The new rule, advocates for low-income Americans say, is just a way to push people off the disability rolls.
“I have serious concerns about this proposed rule,” said U.S. Sen. Bob Casey (D., Pa.), adding that it “appears to be yet another attempt by the Trump administration to make it more difficult for people with disabilities to receive benefits.” ...I don't trust the people behind this proposal at all. I'm sure their motivations are bad. They want to cut as many people off benefits as possible. However, they know that cutting a lot of people off benefits would be highly unpopular. Thus, they try to work around the edges. However, there's little they can do without legislative changes that won't happen. I don't think this proposal amounts to much.
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