Angry People At OIG

      You might want to take a look back at my last post on the situation at Social Security’s Office of Inspector General (OIG), not for the post itself but for the comments. I’ve never had a blog post draw anything like this many comments — 267, the last time I looked. I can’t say how many different people are commenting but there are clearly some very angry people at OIG with stories to tell. I’ve never seen anything like this. It’s really exceptional.

Social Security Changed One Of Its Listings But Kept It Secret

     From a new issuance in Social Security's POMS manual:

The Office of Disability Policy (ODP) is updating its instructions in DI 24555.005 for genitourinary disorders listing 6.05,Chronic kidney disease, with impairment of kidney function. The revised POMS advises adjudicators to stop using the African American estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and use the unadjusted eGFR for all claimants regardless of race. This conforms with the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) and American Society of Nephrology’s (ASN) recent recommendation to exclude race in eGFR calculation and reporting. It also aligns with the agency’s initiative to promote consistent and equitable disability determinations for African American claimants whose impairments would satisfy the criteria in listing 6.05A3 if adjudicators use the unadjusted eGFR to evaluate their claims.

DI 24555.005 includes the same instructions provided in EM-22012 SEN, Guidance on Using the Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate (eGFR) in Cases Involving Genitourinary Disorders. Upon publication of the POMS, we will archive EM-22012 SEN.

    Note that the link to EM-22012-SEN doesn't work if you're not on Social Security's network. The SEN part may be there because this was deemed "Sensitive." In any case, it was not divulged to the public at the time these new instructions were issued to agency staff. I don't even know when the staff was told about this.

    This is basic stuff. It determines who wins and who loses. Why was this kept secret from claimants and their attorneys? We have an obvious need to know.

    And what about African-Americans who were denied in the past under an arguably racist policy?

Little Change In Employee Headcount

    The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has posted updated numbers showing the headcount of employees at each agency. Note that these numbers do not tell the whole story. They don't account for part time employees nor for overtime. Overtime is a huge part of the story at Social Security. Here are Social Security's numbers as of last December with earlier headcount numbers for comparison:

• December, 2021 60,422
  
• September, 2021 59,808
  
• June 2021 59,707
  
• March 2021 60,675
• December 2020 61,816
  
• September 2020 61,447
  
• June 2020 60,515
  
• March 2020 60,659
  
• December 2019 61,969
  
• December 2018 62,946
  
• December 2017 62,777
• December 2016 63,364
• December 2015 65,518
• December 2014 65,430
• December 2013 61,957
• December 2012 64,538
• December 2010 70,270
• December 2009 67,486
• December 2008 63,733

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.