Articles from prior issues of The Advocate

July/August, 1999

NADE Leadership Invited To Meet With SSA Commissioner
Second Meeting Offers Opportunity For Exchange On Issues And Concerns
by Martha Marshall, Legislative Chair

NADE PRESIDENT JEFF PRICE, PRESIDENT-ELECT Terri Spurgeon and Legislative Committee Chair Martha Marshall met with Commissioner Kenneth S. Apfel in his Washington DC office on June 9, 1999. This was the second such meeting between the Commissioner and NADE's Executive Leadership as well as the Legislative Chair. Also attending the meeting was SSA Principal Deputy Commissioner, John Dyer. The meeting began with a discussion of prototype issues and ended with a tour of SSA’s Washington DC offices. The meeting's atmosphere was very open and casual as the Commissioner, Principal Deputy Commissioner, and NADE representatives discussed a variety of issues relevant to NADE and the integrity of the Social Security program. Commissioner Apfel began by asking for the DDS’s reaction to the prototype decision and what concerns examiners had with it. Jeff reiterated NADE’s position that we were glad that a decision had been made. Both Commissioner Apfel and Mr. Dyer expressed their appreciation to NADE for its support and willingness to meet the challenges ahead. Although NADE continues to support the decision to stop piloting the Redesign initiatives and begin planning for implementation, this meeting provided another opportunity to express our concerns that the costs saved by eliminating the reconsideration level would not pay for the enhancements being proposed to the “front end” of the process. Because we are quickly approaching the October 1 deadline for implementation by the prototype states, Jeff pointed out that NADE is very concerned about the lack of instructions and essentially no guidance from SSA on what the final product should look like. Terri pointed out that of equal concern to NADE is the lack of guidance and/or assistance in handling the current overwhelming workloads in the DDSs. Mr. Dyer stated that SSA had learned from past experience that DDS input in preparing instructions is essential to the development of a workable set of policies and procedures.

The prototype is intended to allow the DDSs themselves to refine the process, recognizing the unique situation in each state, before national implementation is undertaken. NADE officers thanked the Commissioner and Mr. Dyer for allowing DDS involvement in preparing instructions, etc. and acknowledged that NADE supports continued inclusion of DDS personnel on such workgroups. Commissioner Apfel turned the discussion to childhood issues and the political climate which led to his decision to proceed with the review of the childhood redeterminations. He was convinced that the loss of credibility which accompanied the initial redeterminations would impact not just on childhood claims, but was threatening the credibility of the entire disability program. Based on input he has received from both conservatives and liberals, he feels that both sides feel that a sort of “rough justice” has evolved as a result of his decision to go the “extra mile” on childhood claims and the credibility of the disability program has been preserved. Additional issues were discussed, which included the need to redefine the role of Quality Assurance, the need for ongoing training--including Process Unification training; and the need for SSA support when dealing with state hiring freezes and salary levels to assure a trained and experienced DDS staff to handle cases under the new process. The Commissioner expressed his appreciation of NADE’s support and the expertise the organization brings to the forefront. He and Mr. Dyer were very receptive to NADE’s concerns and the ideas expressed.