On March 16, 2011, Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, will hold the seventh Compassionate Allowances Outreach Hearing in Baltimore, MD. The subject of the hearing is autoimmune disease. Compassionate Allowances are a way of providing benefits quickly to people whose medical conditions are so serious that their conditions obviously meet SSA’s disability standards.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) is changing the way Social Security Numbers (SSNs) are issued. This change is referred to as “randomization.” The SSA is developing this new method to help protect the integrity of the SSN. SSN Randomization will also extend the longevity of the nine-digit SSN nationwide.

The SSA began assigning the nine-digit SSN in 1936 for the purpose of tracking workers’ earnings over the course of their lifetimes to pay benefits. Since its inception, the SSN has always been comprised of the three-digit area number, followed by the two-digit group number, and ending with the four-digit serial number. Since 1972, the SSA has issued Social Security cards centrally and the area number reflects the state, as determined by the ZIP code in the mailing address of the application.

There are currently 435 million numbers available for assignment. However, the current SSN assignment process limits the number of SSNs that are available for issuance to individuals by each state. Changing the assignment methodology will extend the longevity of the nine digit SSN in all states.

SSN randomization will affect the SSN assignment process in the following ways:

* It will eliminate the geographical significance of the first three digits of the SSN, currently referred to as the area number, by no longer allocating the area numbers for assignment to individuals in specific states.

* It will eliminate the significance of the highest group number and, as a result, the High Group List will be frozen in time and can be used for validation of SSNs issued prior to the randomization implementation date.

* Previously unassigned area numbers will be introduced for assignment excluding area numbers 000, 666 and 900-999.

On November 9, 2010 Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, hosted at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, the agency’s sixth public hearing on Compassionate Allowances. Commissioner Astrue joined Susan B. Shurin, Acting Director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, and other Social Security officials in listening to testimony from some of the leading experts on cardiovascular disease and multiple organ transplants regarding possible methods of identifying and implementing Compassionate Allowances for both adults and children.

“Compassionate Allowances and the Quick Disability Determination process are making a real difference for disabled Americans by ensuring those with devastating disabilities receive their benefit decisions quickly and accurately,” Commissioner Astrue said. “This fiscal year, about 150,000 people will benefit from these fast-track disability processes. With this hearing, we continue to look at broader categories of conditions to determine if a subset or certain diagnosis might clearly meet our disability standards and qualify as a Compassionate Allowance.”

Social Security implemented Compassionate Allowances in October 2008 to expedite the processing of disability claims for applicants with medical conditions so severe that their conditions by definition meet Social Security’s standards. There currently are 88 specific diseases and conditions that qualify as a Compassionate Allowance. To learn more and to view a web cast of the November 9th hearing, go to www.socialsecurity.gov/compassionateallowances.

Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, announced that benefit checks are being delivered to some Atlantic coast residents on Thursday, September 2nd, before the arrival of Hurricane Earl and ahead of the regular September 3rd payment date. About 737,000 beneficiaries in South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Washington, D.C. are affected by this early check delivery.

“Delivering checks early to these residents eliminates one concern beneficiaries might have as they prepare for the storm,” Commissioner Astrue said. “As beneficiaries take steps to ensure their own safety, this is one step we can take to help them. They should also be aware that Direct Deposit is a more secure and convenient way to receive payments, particularly when natural disasters strike.”

Social Security worked closely with the U.S. Postal Service and the Department of the Treasury to make the early delivery of checks possible.

A little-known strategy that allows Social Security recipients to boost their income by repaying retirement benefits received in earlier years and then claiming a bigger monthly retirement check based on their greater age may soon disappear. The Social Security Administration (SSA) is moving to eliminate the do-over strategy. If the agency gets its way, the rule could take effect within months. If you or someone you know might benefit from the payback strategy, now is the time to consider it and come to a decision. Putting it off could mean letting the government make the decision for you — by eliminating the opportunity. Retirees can collect Social Security benefits as early as age 62, but monthly payments are reduced by 25 percent compared with what they would be if claimed at full retirement age, which is 66 for those who claim benefits this year. Those who are willing to wait past age 66 can boost their benefits by 8 percent for every year they delay, up to age 70, increasing annual benefits to 132 percent of their base amount. In 2007, about 500 people — out of more than 37 million retirees and their dependents receiving benefits — took advantage of the payback option. By 2009, the number had nearly doubled as more retirees learned how they could repay their benefits, interest- and penalty-free, and restart them at a higher level. As a bonus, those who repay benefits can claim a tax credit or a tax deduction — whichever results in a bigger tax break — for any income taxes paid on the benefits as they received them.

Source: Washington Post (August 29, 2010)

The Social Security Board of Trustees just released its annual report on the financial health of the Social Security Trust Funds and the long-range outlook remains unchanged. The combined assets of the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) Trust Funds will be exhausted in 2037, the same as projected last year. The Trustees also project that program costs will exceed tax revenues in 2010 and 2011, be less than tax revenues in 2012 through 2014, and then permanently exceed tax revenues beginning 2015, one year earlier than estimated in last year’s report. The worsening of the short-range outlook for the Social Security Trust Funds is due in large part to the recent economic downturn.

“The impact of the current economic downturn continues to be felt by the Social Security Trust Funds,” said Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security. “The fact that the costs for the program will likely exceed tax revenue this year is not a cause for panic but it does send a strong message that it’s time for us to make the tough choices that we know we need to make. I applaud President Obama for his creation of the Deficit Commission so we can start the national discussion needed to ensure that Social Security remains a foundation of economic security for our children and grandchildren.”

The Board of Trustees is comprised of six members. Four serve by virtue of their positions with the federal government: Timothy F. Geithner, Secretary of the Treasury and Managing Trustee; Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security; Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services; and Hilda L. Solis, Secretary of Labor. The two public trustee positions are currently vacant. President Obama nominated two individuals to serve as public trustees, and the Senate Finance Committee held hearings on July 29 for both trustee nominees. Their confirmations are pending.

The 2010 Trustees Report is available here

Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, announced that the agency is submitting legislation to Congress that would prohibit states, without the Commissioner’s prior authorization, from reducing the number of state personnel who make disability determinations for Social Security or the hours they work below the amount the agency authorizes.

“It is long past time that states end these unconscionable furloughs and hiring freezes that needlessly harm citizens with disabilities,” Commissioner Astrue said. “States realize no fiscal savings whatsoever from these actions and this legislation would prevent needless delays in the disability determination process. I am grateful for the President’s support and urge Congress to move quickly to help us make this provision the law of the land.”

More than a dozen states have implemented furloughs and hiring freezes that affect the federally paid state workers who make disability determinations for Social Security. The state agencies that employ these workers in their disability determination service (DDS) components receive 100 percent of their funding from the Federal government. Accordingly, states do not save any money by imposing furloughs and hiring freezes on federally funded employees. Rather, they slow benefits to some of the most vulnerable citizens – for example, furloughs in California in fiscal year 2010 delayed payment of over $11 million in benefits to more than 40,000 citizens with disabilities. State-imposed furloughs and hiring freezes also reduce state income tax revenue and increase unemployment in the state.

“The members of Local 1000 have always believed that furloughing federally funded positions doesn’t make economic sense and that has been proven in California during these past 18 months that Governor Schwarzenegger has imposed furloughs on state employees,” Yvonne Walker, President of Service Employees International Union Local 1000 said. “I applaud Social Security for initiating legislation that would prevent further bad economic policy from going forward. This provision will not only help DDS workers, but the claimants who rely on the services our members provide.”

“We commend the Commissioner for his forceful and dedicated leadership in taking this bold action,” said Susan X. Smith, President of the National Association of Disability Examiners (NADE). “Our members are witness to the impact the current economic recession has had for disabled citizens and we are working hard to meet the dramatic increase in claims for benefits. These furloughs further compound the problems faced by disabled citizens by creating unnecessary delays in the processing of their claims. NADE urges quick action with regards to this legislative proposal.”

The Social Security Administration (SSA) will send checks to anyone who is eligible for Social Security Disability benefits or Social Security Retirement Benefits and is living abroad. However, there are a few countries where the SSA is not allowed to send checks. If a person eligible for benefits moves to Cuba or North Korea they cannot receive any checks while they are in either country, but they can get any withheld checks if they go to a country where paychecks can be sent.

In addition, the SSA generally does not send Social Security checks to Cambodia, Vietnam, or areas that were in the former Soviet Union (other than Armenia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Russia), but those eligible for benefits may be able to apply for an exception. In such cases, those eligible for benefits may have to agree to certain conditions, such as appearing in person at the U.S. embassy each month, to receive benefits.

The rules for receiving Social Security disability or retirement overseas do not apply to Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits. Most recipients of SSI are not entitled to benefits outside the United States. SSI benefits will stop if a recipient is outside the United States for more than 30 days, and benefits won’t start up again until the recipient is back in the country for at least 30 days. However, there are exceptions for dependent children of military personnel and students studying abroad.

The Center for Disease Control Estimates that 3.9 million (1.8%) Americans are infected with the Hepatitis C virus (HCV), and of those infected, 2.7 million are chronically infected. Hepatitis C is a blood borne illness that causes liver disease and causes a host of symptoms that can prevent someone from working. Common symptoms of the Hepatitis C virus (HVC) include jaundice, dark urine, abdominal pain, loss of appetite, nausea, and fatigue.

The two approved drugs for treating Hepatitis C are interferon and ribavirin. The current treatment of choice for Hepatitis C is a combination therapy using pegylated interferon and ribavirin. This combination therapy can eliminate the Hepatitis C virus (HVC) in 50% and 80% of patients. However, side effects can be debilitating and include fatigue, arthritis and joint pain, vision problems, and cognitive problems.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) lists Hepatitis C under Digestive System – Chronic Liver Disease, on the list of impairments eligible for Social Security Disability benefits. In addition Social Security must consider the effects of medications used to treat Hepatitis C when making a determination as to Social Security Disability benefits. However, just being diagnosed with Hepatitis C or suffering from side effects from medication does not automatically qualify an infected person for Social Security Disability benefits.

Virginia Attorney Sheri Abrams, of the law firm of Needham Mitnick & Pollack PLC, has effectively assisted numerous clients in pursuing successful Social Security Disability claims related to Hepatitis C.

If you or someone you know suffers from liver disease brought on by Hepatitis C and you cannot work, please contact Attorney Sheri Abrams. She can be reached by phone at (703) 536-7778.

Pending Cases Drop Below 700,000; Processing Time Down 72 Days

Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, announced that the number of disability hearings pending stands at 697,437 cases — the lowest level since June 2005 and down more than 71,000 cases since December 2008, when the trend of month-by-month reductions began. In addition, the average processing time for hearing decisions has decreased to 442 days, down from a high of 514 days at the end of 2008.

“We have decreased the number of hearings pending by almost 10 percent over the last 14 months and cut the time it takes to make a decision by nearly two and a half months. This remarkable progress shows our backlog reduction plan is working,” Commissioner Astrue said. “With ongoing support from the President and Congress as well as the efforts of our hardworking employees, I am confident the hearings backlog will continue to diminish.”

Social Security has actively addressed the hearings backlog and increased the capacity to hold more hearings. The agency hired 147 Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) and over 1,000 support staff in 2009, and has plans to hire an additional 226 ALJs this year. The agency now has four National Hearing Centers to help process hearings by video conference for the most hard-hit areas of the country. The agency also has aggressive plans to open 14 new hearing offices and three satellite offices by the end of the year. The first of these offices was opened in Anchorage, Alaska on February 19, 2010.

Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, announced that Starting March 1, 2010, Social Security is adding 38 more conditions to its list of Compassionate Allowances. This is the first expansion since the original list of 50 conditions – 25 rare diseases and 25 cancers – was announced in October 2008. The new conditions range from adult brain disorders, such as early-onset Alzheimer’s disease, and rare diseases that primarily affect children. The complete list of the new Compassionate Allowance conditions is available if you click here.

“The addition of these new conditions expands the scope of Compassionate Allowances to a broader subgroup of conditions like early-onset Alzheimer’s disease,” Commissioner Astrue said. “The expansion we are announcing today means tens of thousands of Americans with devastating disabilities will now get approved for benefits in a matter of days rather than months and years.”

Compassionate Allowances are a way of quickly identifying diseases and other medical conditions that clearly qualify for Social Security and Supplemental Security Income disability benefits. It allows Social Security to electronically target and make speedy decisions for the most obviously disabled individuals. In developing the expanded list of conditions, Social Security held public hearings and worked closely with the National Institutes of Health, the Alzheimer’s Association, the National Organization for Rare Disorders, and other groups.

“The diagnosis of Alzheimer’s indicates significant cognitive impairment that interferes with daily living activities, including the ability to work,” said Harry Johns, President and CEO of the Alzheimer’s Association. “Now, individuals who are dealing with the enormous challenges of Alzheimer’s won’t also have to endure the financial and emotional toll of a long disability decision process.”

“We will continue to hold hearings and look for other diseases and conditions that can be added to our list of Compassionate Allowances,” Commissioner Astrue said. “There can be no higher priority than getting disability benefits quickly to those Americans with these severe and life-threatening conditions.”

Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, announced on February 1, 2010 that 15 healthcare providers and networks have received $17.4 million in contract awards to provide electronic medical records to the Social Security Administration (SSA). These electronic medical records, which will be sent through the Nationwide Health Information Network (NHIN), will hopefully shorten the time it takes Social Security to make a disability decision and will improve the speed, accuracy, and efficiency of the disability program.

“Using health information technology will improve our disability programs and provide better service to the public,” Commissioner Astrue said. “We’ve seen a significant increase in disability applications. To process them, the agency sends more than 15 million requests annually for medical records to healthcare providers. This largely paper-bound workload is generally the most time-consuming part of the disability decision process. The use of health IT will dramatically improve the speed, accuracy, and efficiency of this process, reducing the cost of making a disability decision for both the medical community and the American taxpayer.”

The contract awards are funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Stimulus). They will require awardees, with a patient’s authorization, to send Social Security electronic medical records through the NHIN. The NHIN, a safe and secure method for receiving access to electronic medical records over the Internet, is an initiative of the Department of Health and Human Services supported by multiple government agencies and private sector entities.

For the last year, Social Security has been successfully testing health IT to obtain electronic medical records. Disability applications processed with electronic medical records from the test sites have significantly reduced processing times. Some decisions are now made in days, instead of weeks or months. Social Security expects to receive more than 3.3 million applications in fiscal year (FY) 2010, a 27 percent increase over FY 2008.

The Red Book serves as a general reference source about the employment-related provisions of the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) programs. While the Red Book is primarily for educators, advocates, rehabilitation professionals and counselors who serve people with disabilities, it can also serve as a self-help guide for Social Security applicants and beneficiaries. The 2010 Red Book is available in English and Spanish at http://www.socialsecurity.gov/redbook/

For more information about going back to work while receiving Social Security disability benefits please contact Attorney Sheri Abrams at www.sheriabrams.com for an Appointment.

As a result of a decision issued by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, beginning April 15, 2010 the Social Security Administration (SSA) will offer the option of receiving notices in Braille by first class mail or a Microsoft® Word compact disc (CD). The CD may be used on a computer that has the software needed to access Word, but not in an audio CD player.

The Social Security Administration earlier this month mailed notices that contained incorrect January 2010 payment dates. These erroneous notices went to about 6 million beneficiaries who receive their payments on either the second, third, or fourth Wednesday of each month, and are part of the annual benefit notices that go to 52 million Social Security beneficiaries. In the notice the payment date is incorrectly shown as one week before what the actual date of payment will be. The other information in the notice, including the payment amount, is correct. Social Security is sending a letter explaining the error to beneficiaries who received the incorrect one as soon as possible.

“We apologize for the inconvenience and confusion these incorrect notices will cause,” said Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security. “The problem was caused by an unfortunate human error. We are correcting the misinformation as quickly as possible, and we are reviewing our processes closely to prevent this type of mistake from happening in the future. People receiving Social Security benefits in January 2010 should know that their payment will arrive on the same payment day that it has arrived in the past.”

Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, today hosted the agency’s fifth public hearing on Compassionate Allowances. Commissioner Astrue was joined by Philip Wang, M.D., Dr. P.H., National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, and Social Security executives. They heard testimony from some of the nation’s leading experts on schizophrenia about possible methods of identifying and implementing Compassionate Allowances for young adults with schizophrenia.

“Schizophrenia is a devastating disease that affects more than two million Americans, primarily individuals in their teens and twenties,” said Commissioner Astrue. “The onset of schizophrenia has life-changing consequences, which can include unemployment and homelessness. This hearing will help us to potentially identify the most severe cases and consider bringing them under our Compassionate Allowances umbrella.”

In October 2008, Social Security launched Compassionate Allowances to expedite the processing of disability claims for applicants with medical conditions so severe that their conditions by definition meet Social Security’s standards. “Our Compassionate Allowances and Quick Disability Determination processes are making a real difference by ensuring that Americans with devastating disabilities quickly receive the benefits they need,” Commissioner Astrue said. “This fiscal year, we expect to fast-track about 150,000 cases and we plan to add more diseases and impairments to these expedited processes in the coming months.”

Good News: If you are – or know someone — applying for Social Security disability benefits, the waiting time for a decision is likely to be shorter rather than longer.

Since 1999, the number of people waiting for a decision on disability benefits swelled — and the waiting times became longer and longer. The results were often tragic – people lost their homes, families broke apart, people did not get badly needed medical care. Sad to say, nearly every year some people died while waiting for a decision.

Now – for the first time in a decade – the Social Security Administration has reduced both the number of people waiting for decisions on their disability applications and the waiting time to get a decision. SSA Commissioner Michael Astrue made the announcement in a recent press release.

We’ve been fighting for this for many years. The problem is that for many years, the Social Security Administration’s work load went up but its budget went down. The strains on the Social Security Administration became worse as the Baby Boomers began to retire. Finally, there was a small budget increase in 2008 and a more substantial increase in 2009.

Bad News: The recession threatens to overwhelm the recent improvements – and may make the waiting times pop right back up. The number of people applying for both disability and retirement benefits is rising dramatically. In a recession, people with disabilities and seniors who lose their jobs and cannot find another apply for Social Security retirement and disability benefits.

Stephen C. Goss, a top Social Security official, recently said that normally about 2.5 million people apply for disability benefits each year. By contrast, as of September 30, 2009, the annual applications were expected to be 3 million – with even higher numbers yet to come. “When there’s a bad recession and we lose 6 million jobs, people of all types are going to be part of that,” Goss said.

Productivity and Processing Times Also Improve

Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, today announced that for the first time since 1999, the agency has ended the year with fewer disability hearings pending than in the prior year. Social Security ended fiscal year (FY) 2009 with 722,822 hearings pending compared to 760,813 hearings pending at the start of the year, a reduction of more than 37,000 cases. Over the same period, the average processing time for these cases improved from 514 days in FY 2008 to 491 in FY 2009.

“Our backlog reduction plan is working, and progress is accelerating,” Commissioner Astrue said. “Even in the face of a significant increase in our workloads as a result of the worst recession since the Great Depression, we have reduced the hearings backlog for nine consecutive months. Thanks to the efforts of thousands of hardworking Social Security employees and the additional funding we received from President Obama and the Congress, we have exceeded our backlog reduction goal for this year.”

To achieve its backlog reduction goals, the agency has embarked on the largest expansion in decades of its capacity to hear disability appeals. This year, the agency hired 147 new Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) and 850 support staff and plans to hire 226 additional ALJs plus support staff in FY 2010. To provide flexibility to assist the most backlogged hearing offices, the agency opened three new National Hearing Centers (NHCs) in Albuquerque, New Mexico; Baltimore, Maryland; and Chicago, Illinois. The agency also has aggressive plans to open 14 new hearing offices and 4 satellite offices by the end of next year with the first of those new offices opening in Anchorage, Alaska in the next few months.

In addition to reducing the number of cases awaiting a hearing decision, the agency again targeted the oldest and most difficult cases for processing. Beginning in FY 2007 with 65,000 cases that were 1,000 days old or older, the agency has continually attacked its “aged” cases. This year, the agency targeted 166,838 cases that were 850 days or older and virtually eliminated this entire universe of cases. The goal in FY 2010 has been reset again to eliminate cases over 825 days old.

Social Security’s ALJs also continue to increase their productivity. The agency averaged 570 dispositions (2.28 per day) per available ALJ in FY 2009, an upward trend that has continued for the last three years.

A U.S. district court has approved a settlement agreement between the Social Security Administration (SSA) and a group of individuals who had their benefits automatically withheld because of outstanding arrest warrants against them. The SSA has agreed to repay more than $500 million in benefits that were withheld since Jan. 1, 2007.

The settlement resolves a class action lawsuit that challenged the implementation of a law that sought to prevent people from using government resources to flee from arrest. Instead of figuring out which Social Security recipients were actually fleeing prosecution, the SSA suspended benefits by using a computer matching system to match names in warrant databases to those at the SSA. However, many of the matches involved false or unproven allegations, minor infractions, or long-dormant arrest warrants.

Under the agreement, the SSA stopped suspending or denying benefits solely on the basis of an outstanding warrant as of April 1, 2009. Benefits will still be withheld if the warrant was issued in a criminal proceeding on a charge such as flight or escape. According to the National Senior Citizens Law Center, more than 200,000 people may see their benefits reinstated or receive back payments due to the settlement.

As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (aka the stimulus bill), Congress has authorized one-time $250 payments to most Social Security, Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries. Checks to those who were eligible for benefits under the programs during November or December 2008 or January 2009 will begin hitting the mail in early May and continue through the month.

According to the Social Security Administration (SSA), the payments will be distributed to beneficiaries in the same manner that they currently receive their benefit (either by check, debit card, or direct deposit) but the payments will not be included in the same transaction as a beneficiary’s regular monthly payment. This means that beneficiaries should be on the lookout for two separate payments during May.

People with special needs who receive both SSDI and SSI benefits will receive only one $250 payment, and SSDI beneficiaries under age 18 (or 19 if they are still in school) will not receive any payments at all. However, anyone receiving a payment does not have to worry about the additional income affecting his government benefits — the stimulus payments do not count as “income” for either program, and will not count as an available resource for nine months following receipt of the funds.

If you or a loved one has a visual impairment and receives some form of Social Security benefit (which includes SSDI and SSI), or if you have a visual impairment and serve as a representative payee for someone who receives a Social Security benefit, a pending class action lawsuit filed in San Francisco may affect you.

The lawsuit, authorized by the federal court in September, alleges that the Social Security Administration (SSA) violates the rights of people with visual impairments by sending official communications in formats that they cannot read. Over the years, many people with visual impairments have complained that they miss out on important information about their benefits because they are unable to read the typical Social Security notices.

The lawsuit claims that a federal law, called the Rehabilitation Act, requires the SSA to provide notices in alternate formats to people with visual impairments. Several proposals are included in the lawsuit, including sending notices in Braille, by e-mail, or on audio tape. The case is scheduled to go to trial in the spring.

If you are interested in learning more about the case, and how it may affect you or your patients/clients please contact our office.

Hundreds of thousands of Social Security disability (SSDI) claimants are waiting up to three years for a resolution of their disability appeals, according to a article in the New York Times. During the long wait for an appeals hearing, more and more claimants are losing their homes, filing for bankruptcy, dying from their illnesses or even committing suicide. The average wait now exceeds 500 days, and the backlog of cases numbers 755,000; in 2000 the wait was 258 days and the backlog was 311,000 cases. The Social Security Administration’s (SSA) plan to hire 150 appeals judges to tackle the backlog is caught in the showdown between Congress and the White House over domestic appropriations. President Bush proposed a $9.6 billion budget for the SSA for fiscal year 2008, but an additional $100 million is needed to hire more SSA judges. Congress had approved an increase of $275 million for the SSA in November, but Bush vetoed the bill that included the increase. If the standoff continues and the government operates through continuing resolutions, the SSAA’s spending will remain at last year’s level, which would not only scuttle the plan for new judges but conceivably lead to furloughs, according to SSA Commissioner Michael A. Astrue. The increased backlog in appeals over the last decade is the result of litigation, funding shortages, and the rising number of SSD applications from baby boomers in their 50s and 60s. About 2.5 million disability cases are filed each year, two-thirds of which are denied initially by state agencies based solely on the documentary record. Most claimants give up at that point or after their request for local reconsideration is denied. But two-thirds of the more than 575,000 claimants who appeal eventually win reversals after a hearing before an SSA judge. Federal officials predict that the lack of additional judges will mean even longer waits and more personal hardships for claimants. The long delays are also a strain for state welfare agencies that provide cash assistance to some SSD claimants during their long wait for an appeals hearing. Like his predecessors, Commissioner Astrue has promised faster decisions. He indicated that the SSA has begun a process for the speedier initial approval for claimants who are clearly eligible and that more hearings are being held by video. But indications are that there will be no significant impact on the backlog without major increases in funding, judges, and support staff.