On June 27, 2012 the House Ways and Means Committee Subcommittee on Social Security held hearings on the Social Security Disability appeals process. I’m linking to two interesting statements, one from the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities, and one from the president of the Association of Administrative Law Judges. I found the disparate opinions between the two groups fascinating – both have similar complaints about the system, but they come to diametrically opposed conclusions about how to fix it. (Sound familiar, Congress?) Some interesting facts from the statements:
- 70% of SSDI beneficiaries are 50 years old or older. 66% have a high school education or less, and 33% did not finish high school.
- As of May 2012, the average wait time for a hearing was 353 days.
- The SSA has closed 160 remote hearing site locations and laid off 9,000 employees in the last three years.
- In 2011, the nationwide allowance rate approving disability claims was 58% (four points lower than in 2010.)
- Administrative law judges are instructed to spend no more than 2 ½ hours on each individual case, each of which includes – on average – over 600 pages of medical records.
- Judges are encouraged to meet a quota of up to 700 decisions per year.
Stay tuned for new developments. If you have opinions, share it with your representatives. Contact information is available here.
