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Post Info TOPIC: Unnaceptable!!!!


Grand Poobah

    



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Unnaceptable!!!!


Disability applicant caught in Social Security limbo

Agency promises it will expedite 3 1/2 -year-old case


David Hintz had waited nearly three-and-a-half years for this.


At the end of July, the Social Security Administration called his attorney to schedule a hearing. A judge would finally determine if the 39-year-old man from Custer was eligible for disability payments.

For years, Hintz and his wife had lived off her parents. Blood clots in his lungs, an injured leg and a plethora of daily pain medication and blood thinners had kept Hintz out of the work force since 2004. He hoped the call from Social Security signaled the end to a long road.

Instead, the red tape only got longer and more tangled.

When Hintz's attorney reported that his client had moved from Custer to South Milwaukee last year, the Social Security worker said the case had to be sent back to Milwaukee.

The wait for Hintz, a towering man at 7-foot-1, would begin again.

His file is among a stack of more than 762,000 disability cases pending nationally in the Social Security Administration. The agency has been plagued with a growing backlog in the past decade as it struggles to handle more retirement and disability cases. The problem has been compounded by shrinking staffs, archaic record-keeping and ineffective management, according to a report issued in December by the Government Accountability Office, a congressional watchdog agency that tracks government spending.

On average, people wait 512 days for their disability case to be processed. In Milwaukee the wait is about three-and-a-half months longer, according to the agency.

"It is just bureaucratic red tape," said Gordon Leech, Hintz's attorney.

Since Hintz first applied for disability three-and-a-half years ago, Social Security has lost his file, transferred it around the state or just let it sit idle, according to Hintz and his attorney.

When Public Investigator asked the federal agency why the South Milwaukee man's file would need to be transferred back to Milwaukee - thus likely putting him at the back of the line to receive a hearing - Social Security acknowledged the problem.

"We dropped the ball," said Doug Nguyen, regional public affairs specialist for the agency. "We should have understood the individual's circumstances here."

Nguyen said agency employees were likely "going by the book," but he promised to have Hintz's case expedited in response to questions from the P.I. Team. He explained that Hintz's case had been handled by the Wausau office, where cases were being heard in California via teleconference. The move to Milwaukee meant an administrative law judge in Milwaukee could hear it. But it's uncertain when that will be.

Social Security officials insist they are trying to fix the problems. Last fall the agency commissioner ordered local offices to clear out the backlog of cases that had been pending for more than 900 days.

That effort has been somewhat successful. About a year ago, Milwaukee's office had 11,050 cases pending for a hearing. That number has now dropped to about 6,777. People's wait times in Milwaukee, however, have increased slightly, to about 618 days, because processing older cases bumps up the average.

Ann Laatsch, an attorney for Community Advocates, sees many cases like Hintz's. Laatsch helps people with disabilities fight for an answer from Social Security.

"We've had to learn how to fill the gap in the interim while people are waiting for benefits," Laatsch said.

Clients are referred to other places for help - county, state and federal government programs that offer medical insurance, food stamps and other emergency assistance - as well as community programs like food banks, Laatsch said.

Back in Washington, legislators are urging the agency to do something, especially since Congress has recently increased funding.

The proposed budget for next year is $10.46 billion, a 6% increase over the 2008 budget.

Social Security administrators said the extra money will allow the agency to significantly improve service in its field offices and telephone services. For the past seven years, Congress has appropriated about $150 million less each year than the proposed budget, Social Security reported to the GAO.

In addition, the agency employed 19,000 fewer people in fiscal year 2005 than it did 30 years ago, according to the GAO report. In late February, Michael Astrue, commissioner of Social Security, told a House Appropriations committee that his agency would fix the backlog within the next five years.

But some lawmakers say that isn't fast enough.

Rep. David Obey, (D-Wausau), chairman of the House appropriations subcommittee for labor, health and human services, education and related agencies, has said he worries that too many families will be hurt in the meantime.

Hintz has felt perhaps the worst desperation of all. He said he sometimes thinks about what he could do to make sure at least his wife and children are taken care of.

"I've been thinking about ending it all," Hintz said. "I'm nothing but a goddamn stump on the couch."



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"And like Web, I enjoy throwing JR under the bus.  Problem is, it's usually under the special bus that I ride every day". Ghostdancer 12-18-09
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Lord of the Lair

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I have similar problems. Blood clot in lungs, excruciating pain someties. I am on coumadin and pain pills as well as anti-depressants now.

My claim has been pending and reviewed for two years now.

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The Chosen Woo

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I'm not sure if my husband's cousin is still battling or not. I know he has a back issue and his seizures have increased. He is having children issues as well. This has caused major depression, his hair is falling out and the seizures have increased. He is heavily medicated now and is having to wait to see someone to talk to about his depression. He did not look good at the reunion. Oh and his dog died just before the reunion. He wasn't gonna come but his sister wouldn't let him stay home.

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Grand Poobah

    



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FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THINGS SACRED!!! OUR TAXES PAY FOR THIS!!! WHY IS IT SO FRICKEN INCOMPETENT!!!! PEOPLE CAN DIE!!!!

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"And like Web, I enjoy throwing JR under the bus.  Problem is, it's usually under the special bus that I ride every day". Ghostdancer 12-18-09


2011 Super Bowl Champions!

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Look at that number though, over 762,000 Americans needing disability. Wow. That's a massive amount of people you're trying to take care of.

I'm not excusing a three year wait, that's ridiculous, but I'd hate to have to manage the disability plan for the United States.


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2011 Super Bowl Champions!

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Oh, and on top of it, it's probably one of the most targeted social services by scammers looking for a free handout.

Just weeding out the bogus cases probably takes a huge army of government workers.

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Permanent State of Confusion

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JD The Jazz Doctor wrote:

WHY IS IT SO FRICKEN INCOMPETENT!!!!


Because it the government.

Nothing is run efficiently or correctly. If the government were run like a business, it would be good. They can't even adhere to the policies they create and make us abide by. Many governmental divisions would fail within one year if they had to operate like a business.



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Grand Poobah

    



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well I for one would love to go back to a tax system then where the IRS just mails me the bill, instead of gouging my paycheck. Sure, I'll pay ya. just mail me the bill....
Its rediculous. we're in a recession. taxes hit everyone's paycheck. trillions and trillions of dollars. HIRE PEOPLE TO WORK IN GOVERNMENT TO DEAL WITH THE ISSUES HERE.

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"And like Web, I enjoy throwing JR under the bus.  Problem is, it's usually under the special bus that I ride every day". Ghostdancer 12-18-09


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So true.

Which is why I'm against having the government handle MOST of our services.

Just for example, I would SO MUCH prefer privatizing social security. Let ME have a tax break to invest in my own future. I have more confidence that some brokerage house will work to make me money than I have in the US Government to even have what I put into it still left when I retire.

Besides, they're always stealing money from one program to offset some shortage somewhere else. It's just not right.

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Permanent State of Confusion

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Face it. There will be no money for our retirement. They will have to steal it from here and there and we will be in a deeper hole.

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Grand Poobah

    



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I did some reading from different sources on that Fuzzy. A lot is based on the presumption that if nothing is done to fix social security, people in our age range will see roughly only 75% of the benefits of social security. Its the generation after that will be totally screwed if nothing is done. lol I think its my 67th birthday too that is the drop to 75% day....

irony is beautiful with its cruel perfection.smile

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Am I considered the generation after that?

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Grand Poobah

    



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Let me see if I didn't  make a thread around here with some of the stats I saw and I'll bump it Mz....

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"And like Web, I enjoy throwing JR under the bus.  Problem is, it's usually under the special bus that I ride every day". Ghostdancer 12-18-09


Permanent State of Confusion

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Mz - I think you are. I am not sure if they break it by 10 or 15 years though.

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Grand Poobah

    



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I'm having trouble finding it right now, but I seem to think that its more of the children now who will be getting jipped. I remember thinking,well I won't live long enough (if I live to 90) to see another big decrease in benefits according to this chart....but man if I had kids they'd be screwed......

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"And like Web, I enjoy throwing JR under the bus.  Problem is, it's usually under the special bus that I ride every day". Ghostdancer 12-18-09


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JD! You're bankin' on 90?!?! You'll be on your third liver by then!!!

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Grand Poobah

    



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lol I wanted to bet waaaaaaay safe. biggrin

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"And like Web, I enjoy throwing JR under the bus.  Problem is, it's usually under the special bus that I ride every day". Ghostdancer 12-18-09


Chocolate Pip Cookie

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Sigh

Your benefit system sounds as good as ours...and I'm being ironic there...

I work on a helpline for our Disability benefit and it's a nightmare. People aren't trained properly...I spend half my shift sorting out other colleagues errors and incompetencies... They just gave us a new phone system that is crap and has slowed us...they recently brougt in more caller verification requirements which can severely slow us down...
Then they persecute you for being "slower" than their benchmark...

We have a new manager further up the line and she seems to have no idea of the type of callers we deal with. She has come from a call centre and seems to think that we can operate the same way... yet so any of our customers are old frail confused, mentally ill, mentally handicapped or thick...they need time to hear what we tell them and get their heads round it all...

She has single handedly destroyed morale in our offices cos of her bloody stats. I came home in tears on Friday about it all...was stressed all weekend even dreaming about the situation and still fill up when talking about it... They are persecuting the people who do the job right and the slackers who don't do it properly (and therefore have a quicker call rate)...

Several people have suddenly retired who were going to stick around longer cos they just had enough of it...

Aargh.... rant over cos i'll just go round in circles...

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Aw man Pip. We really feel for ya! Personally, I want my people in disability and social service offices to be happy so they can help people. Too many government agencies are becoming people factories, just concerned about getting them in and out.

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Cleverly Disguised As A Responsible Adult

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I second that, Mz. In an occupation where you face into the frailty of the human condition on a daily basis, you want your workers to feel strong so they can really invest themselves in what they do and not see it as a source of unhappiness and stress.

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Grand Poobah

    



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I feel for you too Pip, that has got to be rough! no.gif

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"And like Web, I enjoy throwing JR under the bus.  Problem is, it's usually under the special bus that I ride every day". Ghostdancer 12-18-09


Chocolate Pip Cookie

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it's just crazy... I'd like to find out this particular manager's extension number and give out out to some of our customers then she can see what difficulties our customer's have and us too...

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Waiting To Be Widowed

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That would be CLASSIC!

Mema used to be fond of giving out my ex-boss's phone number whenever someone questioned why we were doing the things we were doing. It was kinda funny.

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