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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]This is not like industry layoffs. They are dismantling your government. You may not care about federal employees as individuals but I am surprised at the lack of concern about  what this means.

Most Feds will find employment, perhaps not in the cities they are in at the current moment, but the longer term problem is the brain drain.[/quote]
I think a great many people feel the federal government is substantially bloated and don’t view it the same way as you.[/quote]

Often the same people who complain when they are on hold at SS or their refund does not arrive promptly or their highway does not get needed repairs...[/quote]

But isn’t that the point? Feds are the largest employer in the world and nothing is efficient. It shouldn’t take a year to review SSDI. It shouldn’t take 20 years to extend the Silver line to IAD.

But it does and it did. Obviously the bloat isn’t making things better. Time to take another tack. [/quote]

The reason it takes years is that there are people submitting SSDI as able-bodied 35 year olds. It is actually an incredibly high number of people who are not disabled but want to get on SS disability as an income plan. They get denied and submit multiple appeals that clog up the system. Attorneys are incentived  to bring such garbage cases and keep prosecuting hoping someone feels sorry for their 35 year old client and grants lifetime disability.  The system is at fault for that, not the employees.[/quote]

It isn't a bunch of people trying to make disability their income stream so they don't have to work. Benefits just aren't that high, especially for SSI.

Employers are also to blame. Many require their employees to file for SSDI before awarding them compensation themselves. There are a lot of stupid claims, claims the filer and the employer know will be denied.

Social service agencies also file them routinely for clients seeking services - clients who are desperate for any and all aid they can secure; so they reach out to all the sources they can. You never know when one may actually qualify.  Many of these clients have mental health issues; so you need a process to determine their actual work capabilities.

The vast majority of claimants do NOT have attorneys. Blaming it on attorneys is ridiculous. Attorneys are only helpful at the ALJ level. The first two rounds, attorneys MIGHT help by providing medical records more quickly; but 99.9% of them don't.

Know what else slows the process? Claimants not keeping the medical evaluation appointments arranged for them by SSA at SSA's expense. The process requires a second chance; so another two months.

Another reason there are so many claims is that people do not understand the eligibility requirements. Just because you can no longer do your current/previous job does not make you totally disabled in the eyes of the SSDI/SSI program. And you may indeed be totally disabled due to some condition but it is not expected to last at least 12 consecutive months, as required by the program. So again, denied.

The simplest way to quicken the process is to lower the standards for what qualifies as permanently and totally disabled. Y'all concerned about taxpayer money should be grateful that the program requirements are as stringent as they are. Otherwise, we'd be paying disability benefits to just about everyone - instead of them getting benefits from private plans and workers compensation.

What the "system" can do is implement some initial screening system to discourage people who clearly will never qualify from even applying, ie: pregnancy being the only medical condition claimed (yes, I actually adjudicated such a claim).

The SSA field offices receiving the initial applications could also require more information at the outset. The disability determination process requires fully documenting every medical issue and almost every claim has additional medical conditions/diagnoses come up in the middle of the process - after the medical records have finally been received from the claimants' doctors. If you want to speed up the process, eliminate this overly-thorough documentation requirement.

I've had it with everyone just casting everyone as lazy freeloaders - or slow, incompetent, unmotivated government workers living the high life on their piddly salaries. These disability claims adjudicators are STATE employees. Know how well-paid state government employees are?
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