SSA Releases Big Batch Of Proactive Disclosures

      Social Security has an office whose job is responding to requests made under the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA). They respond directly to those making the requests but from time to time they also post "Proactive Disclosures" online, apparently derived from items they're already disclosed in response to individual requests. They're just made a huge dump of 51 Proactive Disclosures. I'll pull out some items to post about here when I have time but you may want to take a look at the list now.

     By the way, they have lists of Top 100 Firms & Reps by Fee and Top 300 Fee Payments These lists are inaccurate. I know because my name and my firm's name are on the lists. I know the figures given for me and my firm are way off. I have no idea how they could be so far off. I also caution that those who have never tried to practice Social Security law have no clue about the expenses involved or the sort of investment required. The profit margin, when there is one, is a much smaller percentage than you would think. If you think that practicing Social Security law is a fast track to riches, I invite you to give it a try but know that there will be months, especially in the first few years or if there's a pandemic, when you have to sweat covering your overhead. There are reasons almost no one is leaving the employment of the Social Security Administration to hang out a shingle and represent claimants.

OHO Receipts Starting To Level Off

Click on image to view full size

Social Security's Regulatory Agenda

     Below is Social Security's Regulatory Agenda as of this summer. Proposed rule stage means that no proposal has been published in the Federal Register for comments. Final rule stage means that the proposed rule has been published in the Federal Register for comments. Social Security is dealing with the comments. In one case, the Musculoskeletal Listings changes, the agency has sent a proposed final rule to the Office of Management and Budget for review prior to publication as a final rule. How many of these will be completed by next inauguration day?

Agency	Stage of Rulemaking	Title	RIN
SSA	Proposed Rule Stage	Minimum Monthly Withholding Amount for Recovery of Title II Benefit Overpayments (3752P)	0960-AH42
SSA	Proposed Rule Stage	Use of Electronic Payroll Data To Improve Program Administration	0960-AH88
SSA	Proposed Rule Stage	Administrative Rules For Non-Attorney Representatives and Claimant Representatives	0960-AI22
SSA	Proposed Rule Stage	Privacy Act Exemption: Anti-Fraud Enterprise Solution (AFES)	0960-AI31
SSA	Proposed Rule Stage	Revising Evaluation of Vocational Factors in the Disability Determination Process	0960-AI40
SSA	Proposed Rule Stage	Revised Medical Criteria for Evaluating Cardiovascular Disorders	0960-AI43
SSA	Proposed Rule Stage	Civil Monetary Penalties, Assessments and Recommended Exclusions	0960-AI49
SSA	Final Rule Stage	Revised Medical Criteria for Evaluating Musculoskeletal Disorders (3318P)	0960-AG38
SSA	Final Rule Stage	Revised Medical Criteria for Evaluating Digestive Disorders and Skin Disorders	0960-AG65
SSA	Final Rule Stage	Hearings Held by Administrative Appeals Judges of the Appeals Council	0960-AI25
SSA	Final Rule Stage	Rules Regarding the Frequency and Notice of Continuing Disability Reviews	0960-AI27
SSA	Final Rule Stage	Improved Agency Guidance Documents	0960-AI47
SSA	Final Rule Stage	Extension of Expiration Dates for Three Body Systems	0960-AI48

A Social Security Payment Center In The Olden Days

Have A Safe Independence Day

Not Much Progress In Solving Covid-19 Problems

     The Coalition for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD), the country's major umbrella group for nonprofits involved in helping the disabled, has tried to get some answers from Social Security on its processes during the Covid-19 pandemic. The agency's answers indicate that not much progress has been made. They're working on it but there are major bottlenecks. It doesn’t help that there were major problems before Covid-19.

     I sometimes think that Social Security is like a team entering a high tech car in the Monte Carlo Grand Prix race with a flat tire. They try to implement sophisticated new technology before solving basic workflow problems.

No Noticeable Covid-19 Effect On Trust Funds -- So Far

     We now have some very early numbers showing how the Covid-19 pandemic has affected the Social Security trust funds. In the three month time period of March, April and May of 2019, the combined Social Security trust funds gained $560 million. In the same months of 2020, the combined trust funds gained $863 million. I'm sure it's coming but so far there's no evidence of a Covid-19 effect on the trust funds.

Social Security Loses In The Seventh Circuit On Conn Case

     The vast majority of Eric Conn's former clients reside in Kentucky. The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, whose territory includes Kentucky, has already ruled that the process used by Social Security to reopen the cases of Conn's former clients, could not stand. However, Conn had some clients who live in West Virginia, which is in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals territory and other Conn clients have moved all over the country. The latest appellate court to act on a Conn case is the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals which has just ruled that the process that Social Security used cannot stand, although it did so in a narrower way that the Sixth Circuit. I believe there is another case pending at the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals but I don't know the status of that case.

    The Conn cases that have been sent back for new hearings are on hold at the moment because of the Covid-19 pandemic. It's not at all clear how these will be handled.