Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, announced September 30, 2009 that for the first time since 1999, the agency has ended the 2009 fiscal year with fewer disability hearings pending than in the prior year.  As proof, Commissioner Astrue cites that in October 2008, Social Security had 760,813 hearings pending which was reduced to 722,822 by the end of September 2009.  This represents a 5% decrease in the backlog of claimants waiting to plead their case to an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ).  The news release goes further to state that the “average” processing time for these cases improved from 514 days to 491 days.  In effect, claimants waited an “average” of 23 days less for a hearing.  While we applaud the improvements made by Commissioner Astrue, namely the addition of more employees with funding provided by President Obama; overall, the numbers are not that impressive.  The National Organization of Social Security Claimants’ Representatives’ (NOSSCR) published in its August edition of the “Social Security Forum,” that the Mobile Hearing Office is ranked 101 out of 142 hearing offices and carries an average processing time of 546 days.  This office services claimants in Pensacola and surrounding areas.  All information suggests that the number of people applying for disability benefits has increased because demographically: the population is getting larger and older.  From our view, it appears that Social Security Claimants with good cases are still frequently denied benefits in the initial and reconsideration review.  However, the Mobile Hearing Office, while still quite backlogged, has increased the number of dispositions.  In fact, it has added several new ALJs who are already deciding cases.  Hopefully, we will see improved changes in the way Social Security initially reviews disability claims thereby further reducing the backlog of those waiting for an appeal hearing.

Tags: disability, Social Security