Where Is The Trustees Report?

      The ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, Mike Crapo, is asking why we haven't yet seen the annual report of the Social Security Trustees. It's now more than four months overdue. I don't know if the report has ever been this late before. Crapo's staff has been informally asking about the report but not getting answers so Crapo is now writing a letter to the Trustees and issuing a press release. I suppose the delay is related to the pandemic in one way or another but this is getting ridiculous. Senator Crapo certainly deserves an answer.

Joondeph Named SSAB Chair

     From a press release:

President Joe Biden has named Bob Joondeph Chair of the Social Security Advisory Board. Joondeph replaces Kim Hildred, who was designated Chair by President Donald Trump in July 2017.  ...

Joondeph has a 25-year plus tenure as Executive Director of Disability Rights Oregon, a state protection and advocacy organization. Joondeph graduated from Brown University and Case Western Reserve Law School.

Social Security Reopening Plan Pending At OMB

      FCW (which used to be called Federal Computer Weekly, I think) has a piece up on labor relations at Social Security. It's mostly union griping that there hasn't been enough change since Trump and Saul left office. However, buried 20 paragraphs down is the news that Social Security submitted its reopening plan to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on July 26. Previously, we knew that Social Security had obtained an extension of time to submit a plan but we didn't know when it was due. It's apparent from the FCW piece that the unions know nothing about the reopening plan. They would have preferred to negotiate it before any plan was submitted to OMB and still hope to negotiate it after a plan is approved.

New Vulnerable Populations Liasions

      From Emergency Message EM-21035 REV:

... The Social Security Administration is working diligently to ensure that we continue to provide the same level of service to all our customers, including People Facing Barriers (PFBs, formerly referred to as Vulnerable Populations), as offices remain open by appointment only for limited, critical situations during the COVID-19 pandemic.

For the purpose of this EM, PFBs are limited to the aged; children with disabilities; individuals with limited English proficiency; individuals experiencing homelessness; individuals diagnosed with mental illness; individuals recently released from incarceration; and veterans.

As of June 26, 2021, SSA selected Claims Technical Experts or Claims Representatives for the Vulnerable Populations Liaison (VPL) position in Field Offices (FOs) across the country. The VPL will ensure that SSA provides quality and compassionate service to the most vulnerable communities who experience challenges in contacting SSA due to physical or language barriers, medical conditions, or inadequate access to the internet. ...

     How do I find out who the VPL is for a field office? Will they be any less difficult to reach than other field office employees?

So True

      From The Tax Time by Annie Lowrey in The Atlantic about what she calls " 'time tax'—a levy of paperwork, aggravation, and mental effort imposed on citizens in exchange for benefits that putatively exist to help them": 

... American benefit programs are, as a whole, difficult and sometimes impossible for everyday citizens to use. Our public policy is crafted from red tape, entangling millions of people who are struggling to find a job, failing to feed their kids, sliding into poverty, or managing a disabling health condition. 

The United States government—whether controlled by Democrats, with their love of too-complicated-by-half, means-tested policy solutions; or Republicans, with their love of paperwork-as-punishment; or both, with their collective neglect of the implementation and maintenance of government programs—has not just given up on making benefits easy to understand and easy to receive. It has in many cases purposefully made the system difficult, shifting the burden of public administration onto individuals and discouraging millions of Americans from seeking aid. The government rations public services through perplexing, unfair bureaucratic friction. And when people do not get help designed for them, well, that is their own fault. ...

The Case For Updating SSI

      Jonathan M. Stein and Chi-Ser Tran have written a piece for Common Dreams giving a strong argument for updating Supplemental Security Income. 

     I think there's good reason for hope that the budget reconciliation bill the Senate will consider later this year will contain positive SSI provisions, although probably not all that's really needed.

Opioid Use Among Disability Applicants

      From Trends in Opioid Use Among Social Security Disability Insurance Applicants by April Yanyuan Wu, Denise Hoffman, and Paul O’Leary:

... [W]e examined the prevalence of reported opioid use in a 30 percent random sample of initial-level SSDI applications stored in the Social Security Administration’s Structured Data Repository (SDR) from 2007 through 2017, considering differences by demographic and other factors. ...

Over the 11-year analysis period, more than 30 percent of SSDI applicants reported using one or more opioids. This is higher than the rate of opioid use in the general population (29 versus 19 percent in 2016). ...

Reported opioid use varied by age and demographic characteristics. SSDI applicants ages 40–49 were the most likely age group to report opioid use; women were 3-4 percentage points more likely to report opioid use than men; and people with some college were the most likely education group to report opioid use.  

Reported opioid use is also correlated with application type. SSDI-only applicants who reported opioid use were 4-6 percentage points more likely to report opioid use than concurrent SSDI and SSI applicants.

Reported opioid use varied greatly between geographic areas. Applicants from Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Washington, DC, reported lower-than-average rates of opioid use in 2007 and consistently throughout the analysis period. Conversely, applicants from Delaware, Nevada, and Michigan consistently reported the highest rates of opioid use.  ...

     Even without scientific proof, I think I can say without fear of contradiction that there are other medications used at a higher rate among disability applicants than among the population in general, such as medications for hypertension and diabetes, NSAIDS, muscle relaxants, diuretics, anticoagulants, anticonvulsants, antidepressants, antipsychotics, etc. My point is that we should expect a significant amount of opioid usage among disability applicants. Many of them are in pain and need opioid medications to help them cope. Opioids can be abused but they have important legitimate uses.

AFGE Trying To Straddle Fence On Vaccine Mandate

      In an interview with NPR, the head of the largest employee union at Social Security doesn't seem opposed to President Biden's announcement that federal employees must be vaccinated or be tested regularly for Covid-19. He just seems to want something in return for it. I think he's going to be disappointed on that score. 

     I'm sure de Juliis has many union members who hate the idea of being vaccinated. I'm pretty sure he's got a lot more union members who feel strongly otherwise. The tide is turning quite rapidly on opponents of vaccination. About two-thirds of the country is at least partially vaccinated and we're increasingly frustrated with Covid limitations that are only necessary because of the fools who won't get vaccinated. The unvaccinated aren't just a danger to themselves. They increase the risk of breakthrough infection among those who are vaccinated.

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