What it means if you receive the “paper claim” message after electronic filing:

We have received several reports of representatives receiving a “paper claim” message after filing a claim electronically. NOSSCR checked with SSA, and they report the following regarding the issue:

“When representatives receive the “paper claim” message, it means that the claim has not been transferred out of the local field office (FO). Our system is designed to update the status to “electronic” after the claim is transferred from the local FO to DDS or OHO.

When this occurs, please advise representatives to follow up with the claimant or local office to determine what development is pending or if the case has been closed out or denied for other reasons (if the representative was added to the claim prior to the determination, they should have received a notice). Once the claim is transferred to DDS or OHO, the representative should be able to access the electronic folder for the claim.”

Hopefully this helps to clarify what is happening with these claims.  Please know that NOSSCR continues to advocate for the availability of accurate electronic status updates at all levels of the disability claim.

Enhanced Representative Availability Process (ERAP) Deadline Reminder:

As we noted in our recent member email, the deadline for the creation of a Designated Scheduling Group (DSG) for the new Enhanced Representative Availability Process (ERAP) scheduling system was September 22, 2023.  If you missed this deadline, we encourage you to reach out to the External Liaison Unit (ELU) immediately for assistance. The deadline to submit your availability for March 2024 hearings is October 1, 2023. 

NOSSCR continues to communicate directly with OHO regarding the rollout of the ERAP system.  As March will be the first month where everyone is scheduled under the ERAP system, we encourage members to reach out to us with issues so that we can gather data and advocate for needed improvements.

SSA Federal Register Comment Period Deadlines:

Please be reminded that the following Proposed Rules/Requests are closing for comments soon:

Changes to the Administrative Rules for Claimant Representation and Provisions for Direct Payment to Entities – Deadline for comments: 10/3/2023

Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Request (Social Security Income Simplification Process Phase I (iSSI)) – Deadline for comments: 10/10/2023

Expansion of the Rental Subsidy Policy for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Applicants and Recipients – Deadline for comments: 10/23/2023

NOSSCR will be submitting and releasing our official comments for all of these proposed changes.  We encourage our members to thoughtfully review these proposed changes and submit your own comments as well.