In April 2007 and again in May 2009, the Partnership for Public Service and American University's Institute for the Study of Public Policy Implementation ranked SSA as one of the top ten "best places to work in the federal government." The result was an increase in backlogs in maintaining beneficiary records and making timely payment changes even as employees increased overtime hours (GAO 1997). SSA issued overpayment notices asking for repayment of huge sums of money to people with a history of mental impairments who were no longer receiving a monthly check. Because of this study and the GAO reports, SSA selected a random sample of DI beneficiaries for CDRs to assess criteria for establishing diaries, assumptions about the probability of medical improvement and return to work, and the accuracy of monthly disability payments. ———. In 2003, SSA assumed another Medicare-related responsibility when the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act, more commonly known as the Medicare Modernization Act, was enacted. On March 20, 1985, according to a schedule made 2 years earlier, SSA took its first claim using MCS in the York office. ———. SSA also had problems controlling the reports. A number of reasons have been suggested. Social Security numbers issued: A 20-year review. 1990. Annual report of the Social Security Administration, fiscal year 1979. Newspapers printed column after column on the new program; radio and television stations presented live and recorded programs explaining the law; and post offices widely displayed posters. By 2006, the electronic folder housed over 36.5 million records and was the world's largest repository of electronic medical records (Gerry 2006). In February 2010, SSA awarded nearly $20 million to 15 entities based on competitive contracts (SSA 2010a). SSA paid the state's administrative costs for making the determinations (SSA 1996c). A series of press releases outlined the procedure for assigning SSNs and carried sample Forms SS-4 and SS-5, as well as a Social Security card specimen. In response, SSA Commissioner Robert Ball initiated a "program simplification" project in the Program Analysis Division. Annual report of the Social Security Administration for fiscal year 1976: Submitted to the Congress by the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare on April 20, 1977. After publishing a medical improvement review standard as required by legislation, SSA resumed CDR processing in January 1986. At the startup, the National 800 Number Network provided service to 60 percent of the country, comprising the 50 percent of the public previously covered by the local teleservice centers plus an additional 10 percent of the population who previously paid toll charges to reach SSA offices. With only 14 months to put a whole new program and its computer system in place—just after having implemented Black Lung benefits, another entirely new program—SSA's task was simply too large to carry out without setbacks. Until 1958, the Bureau was still using the Flexoline to keep track of SSNs issued. 2006. On January 31, 1940, Ida M. Fuller became the first person to receive an old-age monthly benefit check, in the amount of $22.54. The effort required to create the Medicare program while simultaneously implementing the OASDI benefit portion of the 1965 legislation was staggering. Available at http://www.socialsecurity.gov/history/ssa/lbjhistory.html. For instance, some states provided higher welfare payments to account for family members in the recipient's household who were themselves ineligible but were considered essential to the recipient. SSA News Release (June 29). 1960c. The rating was based on the results of the Office of Personnel Management's Federal Human Capital Survey, a governmentwide assessment of federal employees' job satisfaction and perceptions of their agency's human capital efforts (SSA 2007c; SSA 2009h). SSA and SSI: The tenth anniversary. SSA took steps to help those who might lose their payments. Once SSA began taking claims for benefits, a loss of field office records had more drastic consequences. SSA's Acting Commissioner, John B. Callahan, began visiting SSA field offices, community centers, and other gatherings of noncitizens to listen to their stories and to assure them that the Clinton Administration was doing everything possible to make sure that individuals would not lose their SSI eligibility. When he or she had everything needed, the employee would decide to allow or disallow the claim. The Balanced Budget Act of 1997 continued SSI eligibility for nearly 300,000 noncitizens who were receiving SSI as of August 5 and restored potential SSI eligibility for an estimated 75,000 individuals who were lawfully residing in the United States on August 21,1996, but who had not filed for SSI before then. SSA has also streamlined the hearing process by reinstituting the Attorney Adjudicator program, which authorizes its most experienced attorneys, when appropriate, to decide on the record in favor of claimants without a hearing. Baltimore, MD: SSA. 2009d. SSA staff had to elicit and process SMI enrollment forms. BL applicants from Appalachia frequently filed for OASDI benefits as well. By the end of 1965, there were 725 district offices, 82 branch offices, 37 resident stations, 16 service centers, and 3,361 contact stations to serve the public. 1992a. Available at http://www.socialsecurity.gov/OACT/TR/2009/. 1995e. DDSs conducted over 400,000 CDRs in 1988 (SSA 1988, 13). Everybody's a farm expert. In the first year of administering monthly benefits, BOASI awarded benefits to about 250,000 individuals. In addition to SSI, the 1972 amendments included changes to other SSA programs. OTA. On February 5, 1937, he sent a special message to Congress proposing legislation granting the Presid… Transferring the folders from BDI to the PSCs began in 1977 and was completed by April 1978. Christgau, Victor. Sixteen SSA employees were among the 168 people who lost their lives (Harmon and others 2000). The plan was to set up a nationwide system of field offices to deal directly with the public, issuing numbers and taking claims; but as of September 30, 1936, the Bureau of Old-Age Benefits had only 164 employees. The Disability Amendments of 1980 and the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981 contained 30 new provisions affecting SSA, one of which required reviewing disability cases. Available at http://www.socialsecurity.gov/history/simermeyer.html. The Bureau of Labor Statistics shall publish a Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers, which the Social Security Administration  (SSA) shall use to calculate cost-of-living adjustments to benefits. Left to right: Arthur Altmeyer; Board Chairman John G. Winant; and Vincent Miles. Support staff such as receptionists, clerical workers, and data review technicians also required computer terminals to assist in claims development and processing. Meanwhile, regular staff and some temporary hires at 1,350 state, county, and local welfare offices were filling out the computer input forms used to convert their beneficiaries to SSI (House Ways and Means Committee 1975, 13). Long, Wayne S. 1993. The 1980 amendments directed SSA to commence CDRs on January 1, 1982, and required all cases subject to review to be reviewed every 3 years (Derthick 1990, 75). ———. SSA placed special flags on all Katrina-related initial claims to ensure expedited handling and instituted special procedures for establishing identity for beneficiaries without traditional forms of photo identification (SSA 2005a). Some offices conducted mass interviews, taking 20 to 30 enrollees into the training room, giving each an application, and walking through the questions while enrollees completed the forms (SSA 1995d). They began trooping into district offices January 2, 1970. SSA responded by hiring additional ALJs and opening 25 new hearing offices in FY 1973 and approving 3 more offices the next year (SSA 1973b, 11; House Ways and Means Committee 1974, 3). In 2004, SSA developed its first Human Capital Plan, which is now updated annually. The following year, the number of initial claims filed more than doubled, to 8.5 million. Oral history collections: George Failla. Retirements were predicted to peak from 2007 through 2009, causing 4.6 percent staff losses each year. These new units, called Extended Service Teams, will be located in states that have a history of high quality and productivity and that have the capacity to hire and train additional staff. In spite of these efforts, when the SSI program began, thousands of SSI records lacked a genuine SSN and had to be controlled under temporary "pseudo-numbers" (9-digit numbers beginning with a "9"). Furthermore, a civil service register of eligible applicants was not yet available. BDP was tasked with building a new computer system, and the Bureau of District Office Operations was to implement the program. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office. As children have no vocational history, SSA had decided in 1973 to prepare special Listings of Impairments for children and to decide each child disability case on the basis of the medical issues alone. OASIS 40(1): 6–9. 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