Senator Smith And Representative Craig Provide Leadership

     You may have wondered whether anyone in Congress is trying to do something to make sure that the dependents of Social Security beneficiaries receive economic stimulus payments. There are ongoing efforts. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) and Representative Angie Craig (D-MN02) are leading the way. I wish there were more followers.

Rep Payees And Stimulus Payments

     When a person is receiving Social Security benefits through a representative payee their economic stimulus payment is being sent to the bank account of their representative payee because that’s the only bank account information Social Security has to give the Department of the Treasury. Social Security has now announced that it isn’t responsible for making sure the money is spent in the interests of the person it is intended for. Apparently, no agency is.

I Doubt This Is More Than A Localized Or Even An Individual Problem

     From a local television station that prefers to hide its call letters:

A local veteran, fighting for disability benefits, says he should have an answer in his case by now. In fact, he's already waited the three months they told him it would take. ... 

Alvie Roach says he has been working for just shy of seven years to file and appeal his disability claims. ...

He had his last hearing in early January, well before COVID-19 closures were put into place. His decision expected within three months. ...

But now were hitting almost four months of waiting, and still no word on that decision. Alvie says when he tried to investigate with the his lawyer's help, he found the judge actually filed a decision the day after his hearing. So, why won't anyone tell him what happened. ...

      I have not seen or heard of increased delays in getting out decisions after hearings so I expect this is at most a localized problem. Decision writing is the part of the process that's least likely to be delayed because of working at home. 

     I don't think the judge "filed" the decision the day after the hearing. More likely the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) put it in a decision writing queue and there's some delay there. While the ALJ may have made up his or her mind, nothing is cast in stone until the final sign off. Sometimes, perhaps not often enough, a decision writer gets back to the ALJ basically to ask "Are you sure about this?" Sometimes the ALJ changes his or her mind. Some delay on this account isn't necessarily a bad thing. My experience is that a little unexpected delay is a bad sign. The claimant is likely to be denied. A lot of unexpected delay, on the other hand, is either a neutral sign or perhaps even a favorable sign. I hold my breath in these cases.

     Also, the seven years part is unusual. The most common explanation when that happens is that the claimant failed to appeal an unfavorable decision and then let years elapse before filing a new claim. There are very few cases which are aggressively pursued for seven years. I've had some but not many.

Fax Number For Medicare Part B Enrollment Released

     From the Social Security Administration:

Although our offices are closed to the public for in-person services, we are taking steps to serve you and your clients during the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Your clients who already have Medicare Part A (hospital insurance) but need to sign up for Medicare Part B (medical insurance) can now submit their completed Form CMS-40B, Application for Enrollment in Medicare Part B (Medical Insurance) to us by:

• Fax at 1-833-914-2016; or
• Mail to their local Social Security office. You can find the local office’s mailing address by using the Locate An Office by Zip button at www.ssa.gov/locator.

Your clients can get Form CMS-40B at www.cms.gov/Medicare/CMS-Forms/CMS-Forms/CMS-Forms-Items/CMS017339. ...

     I'm almot certain that this fax number is solely for Medicare Part B enrollments. Let's hope it's monitored regularly and that, if it's a paper fax, that they keep it loaded with paper.  Social Security needs to switch to e-faxes. That's a change that the rest of the world has made or is making.

National Taxpayer Advocate On Stimulus Payments To Dependent Children

     The National Taxpayer Advocate (NTA) is part of the IRS. The NTA's blog is offering a long explanation for why the Department of the Treasury is only offering a limited window of time for Social Security and SSI recipients to file "tax returns" so that their children can receive economic stimulus payments. The whole thing is based upon the ridiculous premise that all these payments must be sent out in one big batch. The possibility of sending out a big batch now and then sending out smaller batches of payments later as people make the requisite filings seems to be beyond the ken of anyone at IRS. Perhaps more important, like the rest of the IRS, the NTA can't seem to comprehend that the Social Security Administration already has information on the dependents of those receiving Title II Social Security benefits and that information could be used to make payments to the parents of those children.

     At least, the NTA is saying that maybe something should be done about this situation although it makes conflicting recommendations that either Congress do something or the IRS do something. Maybe the IRS should do something and if they don't, maybe the Congress should tell them to do something.

     If there are further economic stimulus payments to be made, I'm not eager for the Social Security Administration to make them but it's clear to me that having the IRS do it was a terrible idea. They're out of their depth.

Medicare Part B Problems

     From the Associated Press:

At greater risk from COVID-19, some seniors now face added anxiety due to delays obtaining Medicare coverage.

Advocates for older people say the main problem involves certain applications for Medicare's "Part B" coverage for outpatient care. It stems from the closure of local Social Security offices in the coronavirus pandemic. ...

Social Security handles eligibility determinations for Medicare, and while many issues can still be resolved online, some require personal attention. That can now entail hold times of 90 minutes or more to reach Social Security on its national 800 number, according to the agency's website. ...

Fred Riccardi, president of the advocacy group Medicare Rights Center, said an already cumbersome process has been exacerbated by the pandemic shutdown, raising the risk that some seniors will fall into a coverage gap or end up owing penalties. ...

His organization is among groups asking Congress to hold seniors harmless from Medicare application problems during the coronavirus emergency. It's unclear how many are affected.

Social Security declined several interview requests and instead sent The Associated Press written responses to questions. The agency said it has seen an increase in requests for Part B enrollment because of older workers losing job-based coverage.

Social Security said it worked with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to waive certain signature requirements for Part B forms during the pandemic and has set up a dedicated fax number to receive applications.

Social Security gets credit for trying, said Leslie Fried of the National Council on Aging, but that "I don't know anyone who has a fax machine anymore." ...

Social Security said the pandemic did lead lead to much longer telephone holds, but its latest weekly average was down to 45 minutes, depending on when a person calls and whether others are trying at the same time. Agency employees have been able to continue to serve the public by teleworking. ...

     What's that "dedicated fax number to receive applications"? That certainly hasn't been publicized. Applications for what? Just Part B? Is that national or local? Don't they still need "wet signatures"?
     Second, Leslie Fried doesn't know anyone who has a fax machine anymore? I don't know what to say in response to that other than LOL!

SSAB Urges Stimulus Payment Sanity

     From a press release issued yesterday by the Social Security Advisory Board:

Today, the Social Security Advisory Board (“Board”) wrote to the Commissioner of Social Security about the short turn-around time from announcement to deadline for families to complete the online form to receive the $500 relief payments for eligible dependents under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act:

• The April 22, 2020 deadline for Social Security beneficiaries was only announced on April 20.
• The May 5, 2020 deadline for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients was announced on April 24.

The Board’s letter urges the Commissioner to continue his work with Treasury to seek elimination of the filing deadlines for Social Security beneficiaries and SSI recipients. ...

     I guess they feel something might yet be done. I hope so but my impression is that the people in charge are deliberately doing the least they can do. It seems to have gone beyond simple incompetence.
     I don't understand why they're writing the Commissioner of Social Security. The problem isn't at Social Security. It's at the Department of the Treasury. Write Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, pictured above with his wife, Louise Linton.

Official Notice On Telephone Hearings Through August

     I received this e-mail message from Social Security today:

SSA Attorneys and Representatives:

We would like to inform you that we are scheduling telephonic hearings only through the month of August due to COVID-19 related concerns.  Furthermore, our schedulers will now need confirmation first if a claimant (or their representative acting on his/her behalf) voluntarily accepts a telephone hearing before scheduling and releasing any notice of hearing for the months of July and August. 

For this reason, we highly recommend that representatives check their ERE status report for any cases currently scheduled in July, as well as cases in “ready to schedule” status, and begin confirming as soon as possible with your claimants whether they voluntarily accept a telephonic hearing.  Please know that our schedulers are currently contacting your offices primarily by telephone in order to confirm whether the claimant voluntarily accepts a telephonic hearing and to schedule the cases for hearing.  Therefore, knowing this information beforehand will assist with a more expeditious and efficient scheduling experience when we contact your office. At the bottom of this email are ERE status report instructions for any firms that are new on our mailing list.  We also have a representative ERE/ARS guide that we can furnish upon request. 

Likewise, our schedulers will also need confirmation if your claimant decides instead they decline a telephonic hearing so that we may proceed with postponing their case if it was previously scheduled for July, and/or refrain from scheduling their case for August, or until in-person hearings resume.

In the alternative, we are also accepting “blanket” declinations or acceptances from SSA attorneys and representatives, should this be an option you voluntarily wish to consider. 

We are also working on alternative ways of communicating and submitting information for these purposes.  As we receive additional scheduling updates that affect Georgia and North Carolina offices, we will forward them to the representative community. 

Pease (sic) note that our unit was under a “freeze” from all scheduling activities until recently.  Accordingly, we are still working on updating and responding to emails previously sent to our representative box.  Furthermore, please be advised that our unit is only handling confirming telephonic hearings for cases previously scheduled in July and/or “ready to schedule” cases that we can potentially schedule for the August docket.   All matters for cases scheduled from April through June are being handled by the local hearing office at this time. ...