Oral Appeals Nixed

From today's Federal Register:

We are withdrawing the notice we published in the Federal Register Notice on August 14, 2006. That notice explained that the Agency intended to expand the methods available for requesting administrative review by accepting oral requests from claimants in person or by telephone. In developing the business process, we discovered this change would not provide the same protections to the claimant that exist in the current process. As a result, we have determined that we will not change the appeal process in this manner at this time.

DATES: Effective Date: This withdrawal will be effective on September 12, 2006.

Oral Appeals To No Longer Be Allowed

A few weeks ago Social Security stunned many of its own employees with a notice that it would accept appeals filed orally. The agency had long demanded that all appeals from its decision be filed in writing. The decision to accept oral appeals went against long establised procedures and seemed unworkable, even to attorneys who represent Social Security claimants on these appeals. Social Security has now filed a new notice to be published tomorrow that will rescind the right to file appeals orally. Here is the item from the Office of Federal Register:

Social security benefits and supplemental security income:

Determination or decisions; administrative review requests; additional options; withdrawn, E6-15055

SSA Press Release on September 11, 2001 Attacks

From Social Security's Press Office:

• Social Security is America’s family protection plan. It is more than a retirement program; it provides valuable survivors and disability protection for workers and their families.

• As a result of September 11^th, Social Security received 5,797 individual benefit claims from 2,428 families. Most of the assistance went to family members of those killed in the terrorist attacks. However, Social Security also helped workers get disability and retirement benefits.

• Survivors Benefits: When a worker dies, certain surviving family members may be eligible for benefits. Social Security has paid monthly benefits to 2,377 surviving children and 853 surviving spouses. In addition to monthly benefits, one-time payments were made to 1,802 members of victims’ families.

• Disability Benefits: When a worker is unable to work due to a disability that lasts or may be expected to last at least one year or to result in death, the disabled worker and certain family members may be eligible for Social Security disability benefits. Social Security has paid monthly benefits to 642 individuals disabled by the terrorist attacks of September 11^th and 99 of their dependent spouses or children.

• Nearly $175 million in benefits have been paid to people affected by the September 11^th tragedies.

• The first payments to surviving family members (benefits for the month of September) were paid on October 3, 2001.

• As of August 2006, Social Security is paying more than $2.9 million per month.

• Social Security responded to the September 11^th terrorist attacks by activating special emergency procedures to give the fastest possible service to the families of the victims of the tragedies at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and in Pennsylvania.

• These procedures allowed for acceptance of documents as proof of death that, under other circumstances, would not have been accepted. Airplane manifests, lists of employees furnished by employers and other statements that placed the worker at the scene of the attacks were accepted.

• Social Security employees helped families at special assistance centers that were established in New York, Arlington, VA, and Shanksville, PA.

Attorney Fee Payments Up In August

After taking a big dip in July, payments of fees to attorneys and others for representing Social Security claimants went up significantly in August:

Fee Payments
Month/Year	Volume	Amount
Jan-06	18,752	$64,848,326.02
Feb-06	20,426	$70,312.586.15
Mar-06	26,227	$91,045,934.83
Apr-06	23,042	$79,714,961.76
May-06	23,581	$82,015,869.29
June-06	27,771	$97,085,724.60
July-06	21,432	$74,648,883.83
August-06	24,579	$85,528,548.61

Social Security Budget

From the president of the American Federation of Government Employees, a union that represents many Social Security employees:

Over the last two years, news about Social Security has been anything but good. Last April, the Social Security Board of Trustees released its annual report. The report estimated that the trust fund would be exhausted a year earlier than previously thought, in 2041, at which point the Social Security Administration would pay out 74 percent of today's promised benefit amounts. Yet a sound plan to shore up the trust fund has not materialized.

Another problem also threatens Social Security's fiscal integrity. In March 2006, SSA's Office of Inspector General reported to the Senate Finance Committee that SSA overpaid individuals receiving disability benefits an estimated $5.1 billion in funds to which they were not entitled. That report provided data on top of a September 2004 Government Accountability Office report, which also stated that SSA grossly overpaid disability benefits to ineligible recipients.

What's the connection between the overpayment reports and the bleak future of the Social Security trust fund? Fiscal irresponsibility on the part of the Bush administration and the Republican-controlled Congress, for not properly funding SSA's staffing and administrative budget. Social Security's problems are the result of poor financial planning and an adherence to an ideological disdain toward "big government."


In the Inspector General and GAO reports, SSA is faulted for not having the means to detect and prevent overpayments to disability beneficiaries whose medical conditions improved, who performed substantial work activity despite their impairments, or who were ineligible for other nonmedical reasons.

Both reports cited estimates by SSA actuaries that the agency would save $10 for every $1 spent performing disability case reviews. SSA responded to the reports by stating it created and implemented new automated systems to develop and adjudicate those reviews. However, the reality is that SSA does not have the staffing levels necessary to process those reviews, even with new tools, and still take and process the millions of benefit claims, Social Security card applications and post-entitlement issues the agency receives every year. In fact, SSA has stopped performing certain types of reviews altogether, citing lack of funding.

Each year, SSA submits a budget which the White House and Congress pare down. This year, SSA is facing further cuts in its administrative budget, which means fewer employees. Couple personnel cuts with a looming federal employee retirement rush, and there will be a human capital crisis, which will cause more wasteful overpayments and detrimentally impact public service. Longer waiting times in offices and over the phone, as well as significantly increased processing delays, will result.

The math is very simple. If $10 are saved for every $1 spent on reviewing disability cases and investing an additional amount equal to 10 to 20 percent of the overpaid $5.1 billion for new frontline staff for SSA, then the savings generated by promptly reviewing, detecting and preventing future overpayments would more than pay for the cost of hiring more employees. The trust fund would be better protected. Furthermore, waiting times and processing delays would be dramatically reduced, and the human capital crisis would be averted, thus protecting and improving service to the American public in more than one way.

To right-wing ideologues in Washington, D.C., increasing SSA's staff would look like embracing "big government." They have deluded themselves into thinking that SSA, one of the most popular and visible agencies in the federal government, can "do it all" with a shrinking budget. However, the truth is that the status quo will mean more wasted trust fund dollars and a steady erosion in the quality of SSA's public service.

The White House and Congress have a choice. They can either choose to act in a fiscally prudent manner by investing in SSA, or they can continue to allow the Social Security trust fund to hemorrhage more tax dollars due to a far-from-adequate budget.

Lump Sum Veterans' Disability Benefits?

The Veterans' Disability Benefits Commission will be holding a meeting on September 13-15 to discuss the possibility of paying Veterans' disability benefits as a lump sum. If this were adopted, there is little doubt that the idea would come under active consideration for Social Security. There have been vague considerations of this concept in the past, but it has never gotten serious consideration for Social Security disability benefits.

Social Security Court Idea Comes Up Again

The idea of a Social Security Court has come up again. This concept has come up again and again for at least the last 25 years. The American Bar Association Section on Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice has set up a CLE session on October 27 to discuss the idea of a Social Security Court. The lineup of speakers suggests that this concept will not be recommended by most of the speakers. Here is the announcement:

3:15pm – 5:00pm
A Social Security Court: Does the Structure of Such a Court Enhance its Justifications or its Criticisms? (1.5 hrs CLE)

This program will examine the well-known arguments for and against a proposed Article I social security court from the perspective of the form or structure of the court. This focus is new and moves the discussion from the theoretical to a realistic consideration of whether the form of the court supports the arguments for, or against, the court. For an initial frame of reference, speakers will be provided with the proposed structure advanced by ALJ Robin Arzt, with the clear understanding that this proposal is just the starting point for the discussion, and that the program does not have any position on the utility or desirability of a social security court, or this or any other format for the court. The diverse positions of the commentators on the proposal, or on the concept of a social security court itself, will provide a spirited discussion and develop new perspectives on the problem. Since the Administration is examining and implementing new ways of addressing the adjudication of social security claims, and the SSAB is on record in favor of a social security court, the program will assist administrative law practitioners as well as ALJs and government officials in considering, evaluating and responding to any formal proposal for a social security court that may be made.

Panelists:

Paul Verkuil, Professor, Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University, New York, NY

Hon. Robin Arzt, Administrative Law Judge, Social Security Administration, New York, NY*

Rudolph Patterson, Partner, Westmoreland, Patterson, Moseley & Hinson, LLP, Macon, GA

Hon . Jodi Levine, Administrative Law Judge, Social Security Administration, Oklahoma City, OK*

Robert Rains, Professor and Director, Disability Law Clinic, Dickinson School of Law, Pennsylvania State University, Carlisle, PA

Nancy Shor, Executive Director, National Organization of Social Security Claimants Representatives, Englewood Cliffs, NJ

Moderator:

James F. Flanagan, Professor, University of South Carolina School of Law, Columbia, SC

Disability Mentoring Day Coming Up

From a public notice filed by SSA:

The Social Security Administration (SSA) intends to award a sole source purchase order to the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), located at 1629 K Street NW, Suite 503, Washington, DC 20006-1634 to provide consultative services that will assist SSA in its outreach efforts during the 2006 Disability Mentoring Day (DMD). DMD is a large-scale effort designed to promote career development for students and other job seekers with disabilities through hands-on career exploration, job shadowing, internship or employment opportunities, and matching of mentee/mentor relationships. AAPD is a nonprofit organization that is familiar with SSA's target population and can provide the personnel, materials, services, and equipment necessary to assure the success of SSA's outreach efforts during DMD. SSA believes that AAPD is the only source qualified to meet our needs.

There is no word on when this day is coming up.