When a claimant, who is treating for his/her conditions is about to go to a hearing, often times their file is filled with hundreds of pages of sensitive medical information about them that will aid the judge in the evaluation of the claim. The Office of Disability Adjudication and Review wants to make sure a claimant’s privacy is maintained throughout the process, so they keep close guard as to who can see a claimant’s electronic file for review for a hearing. The policy has been that a claimant and a representative have to check in with the guard at the front gate and get screened prior to entry, then, the claimant or representative checks in with the front desk and requests a CD by providing information about the claimant (last name, first four numbers of claimant’s social security number).
However, in the past couple months Social Security has also decided to encrypt the CDs of electronic evidence. In order for a claimant or representative to access CDs of the claimant’s medical evidence, the day of the hearing, the person must also enter into the computer the first four letters of the claimant’s first name, the pound sign, and the last four digits of their Social Security number. This may seem simple enough to a lot of claimants, and seem like a sensible security measure, however, it can block a lot of claimants from reviewing a file they need to review prior to their hearing.
Many people are claiming disability due to conditions that affect their ability to think and carry out multi-step tasks. For many, as a result of depression, anxiety, the effects of constant pain or other conditions, they cannot carry out even simple two or three step tasks. By adding these security measures, Social Security has effectively added multiple steps to a claimant accessing an electronic folder. This is further complicated by the fact that a claimant cannot see the letters and numbers they are typing in, as they are typing in the password (as part of the encryption effort). Claimants with learning disabilities may need to see exactly what they are typing, or else they may not be able to complete the necessary task to access their own file. This process also assumes computer literacy amongst claimants, although many claimants have little or no knowledge about how to use a personal computer.
The Office of Disability Adjudication and Review has staff members ready, willing and able to assist a claimant in accessing their electronic file. The staff is friendly and helpful when asked. However, this failsafe to protect the claimant’s ability to access his/her file only works if the claimant is capable of asking for help when needed. Many of the same conditions that affect a claimant’s memory (depression, anxiety, learning disability, etc.) can also affect their ability to socially function even on the most superficial levels. This includes asking for help when needed. This means that many claimants with severely debilitating mental conditions will NOT be able to access the evidence being used at their hearing, as they cannot carry out the now more complex tasks to access the file, and cannot ask for help when needed.
Social Security conducts hearings on whether a claimant is disabled as part of the claimant’s Constitutionally guaranteed right to notice and an opportunity to be heard under the 5th Amendment’s Due Process clause. It can be argued that if a claimant cannot access the evidence being used at their opportunity to be heard, then they may not have been properly noticed under the law. This will also hinder the claimant’s ability to be ready for the hearing and be able to address all the issues to the best of his/her ability.
A change to remedy this situation would occur at the Congressional level or the Commissioner’s level. If this situation is of interest to you, and you wish to speak out, you can write to your US Congressperson or US Senator.
