Happy Juneteenth!

 

Recommendations From GAO

     The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has some recommendations for Social Security. As is usual, they're vague, hardly actionable, little more than an exhortation to do better. I guess the GAO must do some valuable work but you seldom see evidence of it when it comes to Social Security.

What’s Your Advice?

      A message I received:

HELLO. I AM A CLAIMS SPECIALIST WORKING WITHIN SSA IN THE PROCESS OF APPLYING TO LAW SCHOOL. I KNOW THAT MANY ATTORNEYS SHARE THEIR THOUGHTS ABOUT SSA AND THE EXPERIENCES WORKING WITH THE AGENCY. COULD YOU MAKE A POST ASKING CURRENT AND PRIOR ATTORNEYS TO SHARE WISDOM TO SOMEONE INTERESTED IN PURSUING DISABILITY LAW? I'M TRYING TO FIGURE OUT IF DISABILITY LAW IS THE RIGHT PATH, OR IF I SHOULD INSTEAD PURSUE CIVIL/HUMAN RIGHTS LAW. THANK YOU!

      My advice to this person is to not write anything all in caps but I’ll let others make more substantive comments.

A Little Help In Houston

     From KRPC in Houston:

The Social Security Administration announced Wednesday it was taking steps to mitigate wait times at Houston area offices.

KPRC 2 News viewers have reported standing outside in long lines in the extreme heat for hours at SSA offices in Conroe, Houston, and Pasadena.

In response to inquiries from KPRC 2 News Wednesday, the agency said it was adding a canopy to the northwest Houston office at 16200 Dillard Drive but was exploring the “feasibility” of doing so at other offices.

A spokesperson said the SSA will also temporarily assign additional employees to help triage the lines. They pointed to drop boxes at all Houston offices for people to use if they simply need to drop off documents and evidence. Restrooms and water fountains are also available inside for people waiting in line. ...

Some States Have It Worse Than Others

    From CNBC (go to the link for some nice graphics and lists of all the states):

Many people who have turned to Social Security for help in recent years have found long waits for service.

The pandemic made those delays worse. But the issue actually dates back to before the onset of Covid-19.

Congress has cut Social Security’s core operating budget by 17% since 2010, after adjusting for inflation, according to recent research from the Center on Budget on Policy Priorities. ...

Some states have been more affected by those budget cuts than others, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities found.

Social Security’s staff was reduced by 15% between 2010 and 2021. Ten states lost more than 20% of their Social Security staff since 2010. They include Alaska, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Ohio, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

Four states — Alaska, Iowa, Virginia and West Virginia — lost more than 25%. The same goes for Puerto Rico. ...

The agency’s Disability Determination Service employees, who decide whether people qualify for either disability or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits, shrank by 16% between 2010 and 2021. Eight states lost more than 30% of their DDS staff, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. The states most affected are Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Montana, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia. ...

    Note how many of the worst affected states vote reliably for Republicans who are the ones responsible for the budget problems and thus for the staffing cuts.

OHO Stats

     Posted by Social Security. Click on image to view full size.

You Knew The Stories Were Coming -- Waiting In High Heat Outside SSA Office -- Note That The Reporter Doesn't Quite Get That The Lines Are A National Problem

 

Why Not Look At Both Sides?

     From Incorrect Old-Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance Benefit Payment Computations that Resulted in Overpayments, an audit report by Social Security's Office of Inspector General (OIG):

... SSA makes incorrect benefit computations when employees enter the wrong information into SSA’s systems or incorrectly calculate benefits. Benefits are incorrectly computed when employees or systems base calculations on inaccurate information. When SSA detects an error or obtains accurate information, it corrects the benefits and establishes an overpayment or issues an underpayment. We focused our review on overpayments. ...

We estimate SSA could have avoided approximately 73,000 overpayments totaling more than $368 million if it had effective controls over benefit-computation accuracy. SSA’s controls did not always ensure the Agency calculated benefits accurately. ...

    OK, those overpayments aren't good but what about the other side of the coin. Wasn't Social Security as likely to underpay claimants as overpay them? How many claimants were underpaid and by how much? Isn't that as least as important?

    This report is a microcosm of OIG's priorities and not just under the current Inspector General -- an intense focus on overpayments with only a limited interest in underpayments, which are at least as big a problem.