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SSA Goes Mobile

SSA Mobile SiteThe Social Security Administration announced yesterday that “the agency is offering a new mobile optimized website, specifically aimed at smartphone users across the country.  People visiting the agency’s website, www.socialsecurity.gov, via smartphone (Android, Blackberry, iPhone, and Windows devices) will be redirected to the agency’s new mobile-friendly site.” 

According to the release, and apparent after visiting the site, “visitors can access a mobile version of Social Security’s Frequently Asked Questions, an interactive Social Security Number (SSN) decision tree to help people identify documents needed for a new/replacement SSN card, and mobile publications which they can listen to in both English and Spanish right on their phone.”  On the other hand, however, the majority of online services, such as benefits applications and accessing your “my Social Security” account, are still better experienced on a traditional desktop machine.

Social Security’s move to encourage use of its site via handheld device comes in response to the fact that each year, more than 35 million of its web views occur on smartphones.

Posted in Uncategorized on May 7, 2013 by Tim Carney
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Contrary to Recent Reports, Getting On SSDI Isn’t Easy

In its March 2013 member newsletter, the National Organization of Social Security Claimants’ Representatives (NOSSCR) published data on allowance rates at the Initial and Reconsideration levels for Fiscal Year 2012.  Based on recent media reports of individuals gaming the system and the ease of which claimants are approved for benefits, you would think these rates would be through the roof. 

In reality, however? 

Initial Level – 33%. 

Reconsideration level – 12%.

These low approval rates demonstrate not only the difficulty associated with the process, but also the fact that only the most severely disabled workers qualify for benefits under the strict medical standard applied by the Social Security Administration.

Other recent reports and studies have made the case that utilization of professional representation at these levels has relatively little impact on the likelihood of an early award, when in many cases an advocate will nearly double your chances at being awarded at one of these first two levels.

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Posted in Uncategorized on April 25, 2013 by Tim Carney
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Subcommittee Examines Chained CPI

The House Committee on Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Security has been busy. In yet another public hearing (which was the first in a new series of hearings), the subcommittee focused on the proposal to use the Chained Consumer Price Index (“Chained CPI”) to determine the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (“COLA”). The hearing advisory can be found here.

Traditionally, Social Security COLA has been “based on the percentage change in a measure of inflation known as the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (“CPI-W”). While the specifics around how the adjustment is calculated are pretty complicated, this process has resulted in the modest COLA increases experienced by Social Security beneficiaries since 1975.

In an effort to protect and preserve the solvency of the Social Security programs, President Obama’s recent budget included Chained CPI, which is “designed to be a closer approximation to a ‘cost of living’ index than existing BLS measures.” However, the Chained CPI index cannot be used to determine Federal program adjustments unless Congress passes, and the President signs, legislation permitting the change. In light of that, the purpose of this hearing was to discuss the bipartisan support for the policy.

A full account of the hearing, as well as testimony from a handful of witnesses, can be found on the subcommittee’s website.

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Posted in Uncategorized on April 23, 2013 by Tim Carney
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Medicare Advantage Safe… For Now

icon-medicareIn a story that was picked up by most major news publications, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released its final 2014 payments rates for Medicare Advantage plans this week.  Fortunately for Medicare beneficiaries who rely on Medicare Advantage for affordable health insurance coverage, CMS factored in a positive 3.3% growth rate for the plans (thus, increasing funding), rather than the anticipated negative 2.2% adjustment that had been publicized severals months back. 

America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) President and CEO Karen Ignani released the following statement in response to the announcement:

“By being responsive to the more than 160 members of Congress from both parties who raised concerns about the impact of the proposed payment rate on seniors, CMS has taken an important step to help stabilize Medicare Advantage at a time when the program is facing significant challenges.  We are currently reviewing the final rate announcement and will continue to work with policymakers in both parties to strengthen this critically important part of Medicare that provides high-quality, affordable coverage to more than 14 million seniors and people with disabilities.”

At The Advocator Group, we work mainly with disabled Medicare beneficiaries who are under the age of 65 and living on the fixed income provided by Social Security Disability Insurance benefits.  For these individuals, Medicare Advantage represents the most cost-efficient and accessible type of plan.  In fact, about 90% of our clients decide to enroll in Medicare Advantage plans over other options available to them.  That being the case, any changes to the Medicare Advantage program are of significant interest to us, as well as to our clients. 

While the Affordable Care Act still includes provisions that make major changes to how Medicare Advantage plans are funded, it appears that the plans, and more importantly the beneficiaries who rely on them, are safe… for now.

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Posted in Uncategorized on April 3, 2013 by Tim Carney
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Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities Responds to NPR

Great response from CCD to the recent story aired by National Public Radio on the Social Security Disability Insurance program – “Unfit” for NPR — Let’s Get the Facts Straight on Disability.

The introduction to CCD’s six-page response:

The undersigned members of the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities and the SSI Coalition for Children and Families, joined by the Coalition on Human Needs, the Children’s Leadership Council, and other organizations, are concerned that a series recently aired on National Public Radio (“Unfit for Work: The Startling Rise of Disability in America” and accompanying This American Life episode “Trends With Benefits”, both reported by Chana Joffe-Walt) paints a misleading and inaccurate picture of the Social Security programs that serve as a vital lifeline for millions of Americans with severe disabilities.  We applaud the goal of putting a face on programs that are often discussed only in terms of statistics and numbers.  Unfortunately Ms. Joffe-Walt’s reporting fails to tell the whole story and perpetuates dangerous myths about the Social Security disability programs and the people they help.

“The Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities is a coalition of approximately 100 national disability organizations working together to advocate for national public policy that ensures the self determination, independence, empowerment, integration and inclusion of children and adults with disabilities in all aspects of society.” – (http://www.c-c-d.org/) 

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Posted in Uncategorized on April 2, 2013 by Tim Carney
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End of ODAR’s Secret ALJ Policy

According to a communication issued this afternoon by the National Organization of Social Security Claimants’ Representatives , Social Security Disability claimants and their advocates will once again have access to the name of the Administrative Law Judge assigned to each hearing beginning on April 20, 2013.  This development reverses a recent switch that occurred in mid-2012.

According to the NOSSCR communication, the change was brought about by strong Congressional interest in part thanks to NOSSCR members bringing the issue to the attention of the Congressional delegation.  Additionally, Social Security has been flooded with thousands of requests for ALJ names under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and due to the fact that all of these requests had to be processed and responded to, this created yet another backlog to be dealt with, drawing resources from more important tasks.

The change reinstitutes the old process where the agency discloses the name of the ALJ assigned to a hearing when it sends the Notice of Hearing to the claimant and the claimant’s representative.  This allows the representative to better prepare for the hearing based on the ALJ’s unique needs and preferences and also helps to better prepare the claimant for the hearing in terms of what to expect.

In addition to disclosing the name of the ALJ on the Notice of Hearing, SSA will also add the ALJ’s name to the Appointed Representative Services online application, allowing claimant’s representatives, such as The Advocator Group, to easily access this information online.

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Posted in Uncategorized on April 1, 2013 by Tim Carney
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Congress Continues to Consider the SSDI Program

March has been a month of intense scrutiny and analysis of the Social Security Disability program.  Continuing that theme, another Congressional hearing was held last week to “examine policies that have expanded the role of subjective evaluations in determining whether applicants qualify for benefits and how these policies may result in unexplained variations in decision-making, weakening public confidence in the consistency and fairness of this national program.  (more…)

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Posted in Uncategorized on March 28, 2013 by Tim Carney
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SSDI is not a “welfare” program

As you are likely aware if you have found your way to our blog, The Advocator Group is a Social Security and Medicare advocacy organization.  Our core mission is to help preserve or improve the financial well being of our clients by helping them obtain Social Security Disability Insurance benefits as quickly as possible.  Ultimately, this allows our clients to refocus their time and energy on getting better, rather than on the complex and frustrating SSDI application and appeals process.

While we typically demonstrate our advocacy by providing professional representation in the rigorous process associated with obtaining SSDI benefits, we wanted to take a moment to advocate for our clients, and all severely disabled workers, in a different, but equally important way. 

This week, NPR’s Planet Money published a story entitled “Unfit for Work – The startling rise of disability in America.”  Since it was released, the story has created quite a buzz on the web and within the disability industry.  While the story sheds light on important issues related to the growth of the SSDI program and the individuals who rely on its benefits, it also ignores important details about how the program works and relies on over-generalizations about its beneficiaries to reach its ultimate conclusion.  As a result, a typical reader with little knowledge of the Social Security Disability program could easily walk away with an inaccurate view of the program and an undeservingly negative perception of the hard working Americans who rely on it for monthly income and financial security. 

The SSDI program is an “insurance” program, not a “welfare” program.  It is an insurance program that we each pay taxes into throughout our working lives in order to ensure that if we become disabled and unable to work, we will have access to a vital safety net that will provide us with a minimal amount of financial security.  And the financial benefits really are minimal for the majority of beneficiaries – on average, an individual’s monthly SSDI benefit is only equal to about half of what they were earning while gainfully employed.  (more…)

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Posted in Uncategorized on March 26, 2013 by Tim Carney
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House Subcommittee Examines Disability Program’s Financing Challenges

On March 14, 2013, the House Committee on Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Security held a public hearing to address the financing challenges facing the Social Security Disability Insurance program.  In announcing the hearing, Chairman Sam Johnson (R-TX) provided the following statement – “Disabilities can have a devastating effect on workers and their families.  Disability benefits provide vital income during times of uncertainty.  We already know the disability program’s broken process makes people wait too long and that decisions can depend more on who is making the decision than what is the right decision.  Even worse, in just three years disability beneficiaries will face a 21 percent benefit cut, if Congress doesn’t act.  We must get serious and fix this program.” (more…)

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Posted in Uncategorized on March 25, 2013 by Tim Carney
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Acting Commissioner Carolyn Colvin on SSA’s Service Delivery Challenges

In a March 14th Congressional hearing, Acting Social Security Commissioner Carolyn Colvin issued a statement on the service delivery challenges currently facing the Social Security Administration.  One of several hearings postponed by a large East Coast snow storm, the hearing eventually took place about a week after its originally scheduled date.

At the hearing, Colvin painted a picture of a “can-do” agency strapped for resources and treading water, bolstering her argument in favor of additional funding by positioning the Social Security Administration as “a good investment for the American taxpayer.”  Stating that the goal of the agency is to provide balanced service with the resources it receives, Colvin recognized that the current fiscal environment will inevitably lead to tough trade-offs and will likely result in “further reductions in office hours, deferred workloads, and other cost-saving activities that will sadly delay services to our applicants and beneficiaries.” (more…)

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Posted in Uncategorized on March 19, 2013 by Tim Carney