11% Reduction In Backlog Of Pending Cases?

     From National Public Radio:

... Social Security field offices are closed. But the shutdown hasn't stopped the agency from processing claims for new benefits and appeals of benefit denials. And according to statistics that the SSA sent its workers, the agency has been doing so at a faster pace than before. ...

According to [Ralph] deJuliis [head of the union that represents most Social Security employees], the SSA has found that its backlog of pending cases has fallen by 11% since March 23, when the agency instituted wide-scale telework, and that calls from recipients are answered more quickly. ...

     Exactly which backlog of pending cases is it that's fallen by 11% since March 23? There are many backlogs at Social Security and they certainly haven't all dropped by 11% in less than a month and a half. I'd love to see those statistics that Social Security sent its employees.

Emergency Paid Leave Not Yet Available At SSA

     From Federal News Network:

Employees at the Social Security Administration say the agency hasn’t yet made emergency paid sick leave available to them, despite a congressionally-mandated implementation date and assurances from its payroll provider that its customers can, in fact, access these new benefits.

Under the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (EPSLA), all federal employees are eligible for up to 80 hours of emergency paid sick leave if they meet certain coronavirus-related circumstances. Congress included emergency paid sick leave in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which the president signed into law March 18.

Under the law, employees had access to the emergency paid sick leave starting April 1, and the benefits are available through Dec. 31, 2020.

But SSA employees and the unions that represent them say the agency hasn’t explained when they’ll be able to formally request and use emergency paid sick leave benefits under the new law. 

“We are working with our payroll provider on implementation of this new legislation and the associated leave balance,” an SSA spokesman wrote in an email to Federal News Network. “In the meantime, employees may continue to take personal leave or request advanced leave when necessary. Additionally, the leave from this legislation may be applied retroactively or used for future needs.” ...

A Question

     A question for those representing Social Security claimants or for employees of Social Security's Office of Hearings Operations (OHO): 

Claimant already has a hearing scheduled for July or August of this year but the hearing office is notified that the claimant declines a telephone hearing. Does OHO just cancel the hearing or leave it on the schedule hoping that by then they can do an in person hearing?

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.