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

Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, today 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 fiscal year (FY) 2008.

Expansion Will Speed Benefits to Thousands of Americans with Disabilities

Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, today announced that the agency 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 to rare diseases that primarily affect children. The complete list of the new Compassionate Allowance conditions is attached.

“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.”

Changes Make it Easier to Qualify for Extra Help with Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Costs

Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, and Chubby Checker, Grammy Award winner and rock and roll legend, today launched a new campaign to inform millions of Americans about a new “twist” in the law that makes it easier to qualify for extra help with Medicare prescription drug costs. The extra help program currently provides assistance to more than nine million senior and disabled Americans — saving them an average of almost $4,000 a year on their Medicare prescription drug plan costs. To apply for extra help, there is an easy-to-use online application available at www.socialsecurity.gov.

One commentator in this video describes Social Security as a “multi-generational Ponzi scheme that has no end”.

Even if the SS trust fund runs out of money, the government can always print more money to send out Social Security checks.

The only question is, will the money still be worth something? The more money they put out there, the faster its value goes down. And once other countries (like China) recognize that the dollar is losing its value, they will stop buying the US government’s debt.

President Barack Obama addressed Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid in Tuesday’s speech on the economy at Georgetown University.

As the ongoing recession has already eliminated 4 million jobs, Social Security collects fewer taxes. In fact, Social Security is expected to pay out as much as it collects from taxes by 2010. More optimistically, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that Social Security will collect around $3 billion more tax money than the benefits they will have to pay out next year. Before the economic crisis, the Congressional Budget Office had counted on a much bigger surplus of over $86 billion.

In a blog post to the Wall Street Journal’s website, Amitai Etzioni has offered a proposal which he feels could stimulate the economy without increasing the federal deficit.