Social Security expands public services, but field offices to remain closed until spring
SSA spokesman Hinkle said other efforts also are underway to improve access in the field. The staff has almost tripled the number of 15-minute in-office appointments it provides for “dire need” circumstances. The agency said it continues to modify procedures to eliminate red tape, by allowing applicants to use some secondary evidence and more online forms, and to attest in lieu of signatures in some cases.
But advocates continue to point to serious problems created by the field office closures, particularly the plummeting number of people eligible for aid but not applying because the system is now too complicated.
Despite the nosediving number of claims, the state agencies that handle medical exams for Social Security are on track to end January with 1 million pending applications, according to an analysis of federal data by Stacy Cloyd of the National Organization of Social Security Claimants’ Representatives. That is a 27 percent increase from the same time two years ago.
Attrition, the shift to remote work and a shortage of physicians willing to see claimants in person are causing the delays, advocates said.
The advocates have a meeting scheduled with agency officials Jan. 31 to discuss a range of proposals they have made to halt punitive policies affecting disabled and elderly beneficiaries until person-to-person service fully resumes.
Their most significant request is to resume the suspension of a process called continuing disability reviews.
Share Post
Recent news
Social Security offices have been closed for most of the pandemic. That effort to protect public health has wounded some of the neediest Americans.
Two hours west in Jackson, an old cotton city where almost 1 in 4 people live in poverty, Beth Bates, a legal services attorney, reviewed 4,000 pages of medical records she needed to know cold...
Where the push to bring Supplemental Security Income benefits up to federal poverty level stands
Democratic leaders in Washington, D.C., have touted a $3.5 trillion spending package aimed at helping to fight poverty. Yet initial drafts have not included proposed reforms to enhance Supplemental Security Income — also known as...
Democrats Want to Reform This Program That Helps Poor Elderly and Disabled Americans
President Joe Biden has invoked Franklin Delano Roosevelt several times as he has implemented sweeping anti-poverty measures to tackle record unemployment and economic turmoil. Hoping to model his legacy on the President who helped the...
