36 | July/August 2022 | BAEC Bulletin Annual Social Security conference features both good and bad news
The National Organization of Social Security Representatives (NOSSCR) held its annual conference last month. Among the conference’s many programs, there was a presentation from Social Security Administration (SSA) officials which highlighted the challenges of re-opening field offices after being closed for two years, the increased backlog of disability applications (up 27 percent nationwide, surpassing 1.1 million), and significant budget shortfalls due to limited funding over the past four years. Grace Kim, Deputy Commissioner of Operations recently reported to the House Social Security Subcommittee that the agency has not been able to cover base expenses for the last decade, and the $411 million increase in budget for fiscal year 2022 would not cover cost increases for employee pay raises, step increases, and Federal Employees Retirement System contributions. Kim stated, “We are delaying critically needed hires, reducing much-needed overtime, and postponing IT improvements.” These delays, she said, are resulting in growing backlogs, which have reached “unacceptable levels and a deterioration in services.” The SSA is requesting a $1.4 billion budget increase for FY 2023, and Kim told the Subcommittee that without an immediate appropriation she expects pending cases to surpass the record high of 4.6 million last seen in 2016 by the end of this fiscal year. Budgetary restrictions are also impacting hiring as entry level jobs at the SSA offer low pay levels, leading to a decrease in applicants for Disability Determination Services (DDS) positions. From 2017 to 2021 wait times for Social Security Disability hearings in front of Administrative Law Judges went down, but they are now rising again due to the budget and labor/ work-hour shortages. In the Buffalo region claimants currently wait 390 days for a hearing which will likely increase. The SSA is anticipating some parts of the country will see wait times in excess of 570-days. On the positive side, the agency has resumed in-person hearings, and will continue to provide phone and video hearings to claimants who prefer those options. The SSA is also considering telehealth and virtual Consultative Exams (CE) in order to help improve wait times. The current CE process is already fairly impersonal (one-time exam lasting five to fifteen minutes, according to most of my clients), so
virtual appointments might not be much worse. U.S. Representative Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), Chair of the House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee attended the NOSSCR conference virtually to report on the Stop the Wait Act. Under the current Social Security Disability regulations, claimants are not eligible to receive their monthly benefit until five months after their disability date. Further they must wait 24 months from the eligibility date to start receiving Medicare benefits. The Stop the Wait Act would end the five-month waiting period to receive SSD benefits and allow the uninsured to receive Medicare coverage immediately. NOSSCR supports this bill because it will allow disability applicants more timely access to much-needed medical treatment. Currently, while they wait for benefits applicants face critical financial insecurity; they often forego medical attention because they cannot afford treatment; and some die while waiting for their benefits to begin. Additionally, it was announced the cap on remuneration for SSD claimants’ attorneys will be increased to from $6,000 to $7,200 in 2022, the first such increase since 2009. The increase is far less than the cost-of-living-adjustment for the same period, but it’s a step in the right direction to allow attorneys to continued practicing in this area. •
CHRISTOPHER J. GROVER Christopher J. Grover is a disability attorney at Jeffrey Freedman Attorneys, PLLC. He is also the former Chair of the Bar Association of Erie County’s Committee for the Disabled.
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