Why It Takes Longer To Get A Disability Determination

     From a recently released report. Click on image to view full size. The full report breaks it down by state and region.

A Poll

 

online polls

New Acquiescence Ruling

     Social Security has issued Acquiescence Ruling 24-1(6) on Dennard v. Secretary of Health & Human Services and Drummond v. Commissioner of Social Security, two old Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals decisions.

New Overpayment Waiver Policies

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

Household income at or below 150 percent of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) and limited resources

We will also waive the overpayment under the deemed to defeat the purpose provision, if the overpaid individual's and their household family member's income is at or below 150 percent of the FPL [Federal Poverty Level]; and their resources are within the limit for defeats the purpose, refer to GN 02250.100E. We assume that an individual who meets the resource limit and has a household income of 150 percent of the FPL needs substantially all of their income to meet all of their current ordinary necessary living expenses, so there is no need to review their expenses.   

     And from another new POMS issuance referenced above:

To determine recovery of an overpayment defeats the purpose (meaning the individual doesn't have the ability to repay), we must find that:

• The overpaid individual needs substantially all of their current income to meet their current ordinary and necessary living expenses (i.e., the monthly household income does not exceed monthly current ordinary and necessary living expenses by more than $250), per GN 02250.100C and GN 02250.100D; and
• The overpaid individual has no more than $6,000 in resources or $10,000 if the individual has one other household family member. If the individual has more than one other household family member, add $1,200 for each additional household family member to their resource limit, per GN 02250.100E.

Will We Ever See A New Occupational Information System?

     It may give no answers relevant to Social Security disability determination but this recent release from the Bureau of Labor Statistics is interesting. It looks like they could tell us whether there are sedentary unskilled jobs if they wanted to. Why not? Why can't we get a completely new Occupational Information System? No one is satisfied with what we have now.

     At what point is the continued use of the ancient Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT) litigated? The only thing restraining Social Security attorneys from litigating has been the fear of what might replace the DOT. 

Carolyn Colvin To Be ACOSS

 

    The National Organization of Social Security Claimants Representatives (NOSSCR) is reporting that Carolyn Colvin will once again serve as Acting Commissioner Of Social Security (ACOSS). She had served previously in that role from 2013-17.

    Of course, the incoming Trump Administration can designate someone else for the acting position or can quickly nominate someone to be the confirmed Commissioner of Social Security.

    Also, of course, Colvin isn't obligated to hang around if she is ordered to make layoffs that would have a disastrous effect on the agency.

Telework Thread

     I'm tired of deleting comments from readers who try to post their views about telework in response to every post I make, whether telework is relevant to what I posted or not. So, here is a post about telework. I don't have anything to say about it. Unlike most of my readers I don't have strong feelings about it. I just want to let readers speak their minds about telework. Have at it. Make endless, tedious, pointless comments if you want and let the comments on the other posts be about those posts.

Yesterday's Hearing

     The hearing yesterday before the Labor-HHS Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee went about as I expected but there were interesting details.

Robert Aderholt, Subcommittee Chair

    Robert Aderholt, the Chair of the Subcommittee, spoke first. He said he was happy that Commissioner O'Malley had already come to his office to discuss the agency's appropriation. He said that less than half of agency heads did this, which I find surprising. He also said that this was the first House Appropriations Committee hearing on Social Security in a decade. I knew it had been a long time but that's even more than I imagined. Note to future Commissioners, including Acting Commissioners: Meet with Appropriations Committee members on as regular a basis as you can.

    Aderholt went quickly into Republican talking points which basically amount to pressure to force an end to telework and a demand that the agency manage its way out of its service delivery problems. In particular, he didn't like the amount of overtime at Social Security and thought that it was being abused by employees. Maybe there are problems with overtime but if it there are, it's just the normal sort of management issue that you find at any large entity. It's hardly responsible for any work backlogs, nor is telework. Just about every entity employing white collar employees allows telework. If you don't allow it, you have a hard time holding onto your employees or hiring new ones.

    The other Subcommittee members divided along party lines in predictable and somewhat depressing ways. My limited experience with Congressional hearings in past decades was that they were nowhere near as partisan as this.

     There were many questions along the lines of “Can’t you use AI so you can give better service inexpensively?” The Commissioner’s answer was basically “We hardly have the money to maintain the systems we already have so we can’t possibly afford new AI contracts.”

    It grated on me that Commissioner O'Malley kept saying he had "turned around" Social Security. He's a politician so you expect some hyperbole but saying that the agency has been "turned around" is over the top. O'Malley has done a good job in the short time frame he's had but actually "turning around" the agency was impossible without more time and more money.

    In the end, I hope I'm wrong but I would be surprised to see any additional money for Social Security coming out of this Subcommittee.

    Republicans will get a chance to see whether a Trump appointee as Commissioner can manage the agency out of its service delivery problems. I don't have high hopes of anyone even being nominated for the position for many months, if not years, into the future. Given the quality of the man Trump appointed in his first term in office, I'm not expecting a transformational leader.