Articles from prior issues of The Advocate

January/February 2000

15692 Blackwater Road
Zachary LA 70791
225-925-3529

December 4, 1999

The Honorable Kenneth S. Apfel, Commissioner
Social Security Administration
500 E Street SW, Suite 850
Washington DC 20254

Dear Commissioner Apfel:

On behalf of the members of the National Association of Disability Examiners (NADE), I am writing to protest the wording on the Prototype poster and flyer (a copy of which is enclosed) and the message it conveys to the public.

We have consistently and repeatedly expressed our objection to the phrase, “Make the right decision the first time.” We are appalled that the Office of Communication elected to use this phrase, rather than the wording used on the Vision Statement issued may 27, 1999. (A copy of which is also enclosed.) The phrase used there, “ensure that cases that should be allowed, are allowed at the earliest level possible” is far more accurate, and far less offensive to the DDS, than that used on the poster.

It is our understanding that the Office of Communications felt the phrase. “Make the right decision the first time” would be more understandable to the public than the wording used in the Vision Statement. We strongly disagree. Very few applicants for disability benefits feel that a denial is the “right decision.” To say that we are changing the process to “make the right decision the first time” clearly implies 1) that our decisions prior to this have been wrong and 2) that most, if not all, claims will now be allowed. We cannot imagine how the public can interpret this phrase any other way or why SSA would want to convey that message to the public.

We believe the phrase, “Make the right decision the first time” should never be used in any verbal or written discussion of the new disability process and we request that all future printings of the public relations posters and flyers use the phrase, “Ensure that claims that should be allowed are allowed at the earliest level possible.”

Thank you for your attention to this problem.

Sincerely, Terri Spurgeon, President