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SSA

New Appeals Council (AC) Evidence Rule Finalized

The Social Security Administration (SSA) has finalized a cost-saving rule that determines what types of submitted evidence the AC will return to claimants. The rule, which went into effect on February 5, 2016, states that the AC has the power to decide whether or not to return evidence. In making such a decision, the AC will consider the following factors: who submitted the evidence, how the evidence was submitted, whether or not the claimant had representation, and whether or not the claimant still has access to the information once it had been submitted. Electronically-submitted evidence is unlikely to be returned,… Learn More

Proposed Social Security Administration (SSA) Funding for Fiscal Year (FY) 2017

President Obama has requested $13.237 billion in funding for the SSA in FY 2017. This funding request would cover the SSA’s administrative costs. None of the money requested would go toward the payment of benefits. Of the $13.237 billion requested, $112 million would go to the SSA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG), $58 million would be directed to research, and $13.067 billion would go to the SSA’s limitation on administrative expenses (LAE). So called because it limits the amount the SSA can spend on administrative costs, the LAE money comes from SSA’s trust funds (as opposed to outside funds transferred… Learn More

A Potential New Deputy Commissioner for the Social Security Administration (SSA)

The Senate Finance Committee convened for a hearing on February 4 to vet nominee Andrew LaMont Eanes for the position of Deputy Commissioner of the SSA. The position of Deputy Commissioner of the SSA requires a Presidential nomination and the approval of the Senate. A second-in-command to the SSA Commissioner, the Deputy Commissioner has a major role in helping oversee all of the SSA’s various departments. Eanes, who has a Bachelor’s degree in political science and an M.B.A. from Baldwin Wallace College, has spent most of his career in the private sector. However, he does have some experience with the… Learn More

The Social Security Administration’s (SSA) CARES Plan Aims to Reduce Hearings Backlog

The SSA’s Office of Disability Adjudication and Review (ODAR) has developed a strategy to attack the overwhelming hearings backlog and excessive processing times.  At the close of 2015, over one million claimants were still awaiting Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) hearings, and the average claim processing time was 512 days. In order to address the backlog and speed up claims processing times, ODAR developed the Compassionate and REsponsive Service (CARES) plan. The plan was unveiled in January of 2016, and the hope is that it will reduce the average processing time to 270 days by Fiscal Year (FY) 2020. The CARES… Learn More

The Social Security Administration (SSA) Proposes a New Rule

The SSA has proposed a new rule regarding what evidence is returned to claimants who submit new material to the Appeals Council with the Request for Review, or within a certain amount of time as determined by the Appeals Council. When claimants or their representatives submit such evidence, the Appeals Council then decides if the newly submitted evidence is legitimately new, relevant, and appropriate to the time period on or prior to the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) hearing decision. Currently, the Appeals Council is legally required to return any such evidence not relevant to the time period on or prior… Learn More

Interstitial Cystitis (IC) Receives New Social Security Ruling (SSR)

The Social Security Administration (SSA) has recently issued a new SSR on IC. The new ruling replaces a 2002 SSR. An SSR is a precedential decision released under the authority of the Commissioner of Social Security that addresses an SSA policy or program. Section I of the SSR describes IC as a genitourinary disorder of the bladder and pelvic region. Some medical providers and organizations, such as the American Urological Association recognize IC by the names “painful bladder syndrome” or “bladder pain syndrome.” The SSA uses the term IC to describe all three conditions. More common in women, IC can… Learn More

Ambiguities Surrounding the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) New Regulations on the Submission of Evidence

In our last entry, we explored the SSA’s new regulations on the submission of evidence (hereafter the “all evidence” rules) that took effect on April 20, 2015. Now, we will consider some of the ambiguities surrounding their implementation, interpretation, and impact. According to attorney Eric Schnaufer, who has written about and presented on the new regulations, all claimant representatives will likely have to revise, to a greater or lesser extent depending on the nature of their prior practices, the way they keep records and advocate for their clients due to the ways in which the new “all evidence” rules have… Learn More

The Social Security Advisory Board (SSAB) Welcomes Three New Members

Henry Aaron of the Brookings Institution, Lanhee Chen of the Hoover Institution and Stanford University, and Alan Cohen of the Center for American Progress, are the three newest members of the SSAB. The Senate confirmed their appointments on September 8, 2014. The SSAB was a 1994 creation of President Clinton and Congress, meant to complement the legislation autonomizing the Social Security Administration (SSA) (the SSA was previously a part of the Department of Health and Human Services). The SSAB is a seven-member strong, bipartisan body tasked with advising the President, Congress, and the Commissioner of Social Security about issues pertaining… Learn More

Federal Court and the Social Security Administration (SSA)

At the SSA’s request, the Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS) is in the process of conducting a study of how select Social Security programs are received and reviewed in federal court. Here are a few things the study aims to do: -Examine the Social Security Act and the SSA’s protocols and practices for deciding disability claims, including the appeals process. -Assess how federal court interprets and applies SSA regulations to deciding disability cases with an eye toward any patterns suggesting consistencies or inconsistencies at the appeals and district court levels. -Assess federal court protocols and practices for processing… Learn More

Does Student Loan Debt Affect Social Security Benefits?

Yes, it can. According to a recent report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), there was a five-fold increase between 2002 and 2013 in the number of Social Security beneficiaries whose benefits were offset to help pay down their student loan debt. But there’s hope for some of those beneficiaries whose benefits have been garnished for that reason. If a debtor is found to be Totally and Permanently Disabled (TPD), he or she may be eligible for debt forgiveness. While a TPD determination is different than a Social Security Administration (SSA) disability finding, the Department of Education will accept a… Learn More

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    The National Advocates organization is pleased to announce that Mr. Fred Fleming has been selected for inclusion into its Social Security Disability Law specialty, an honor given to only a select group of lawyers as recognition of their superior skills and qualifications in the field.

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