NPN benefitsBlog

National Football League Wants to Use Federal SSA Disability Standards

According to press reports, in an attempt to make the NFL's failing professional football players organization disability process work, Commissioner Roger Goodell Executive and Gene Upshaw, Director of the National Football League Players Association have proposed using the disability determination process used by the Social Security Administration for disabled applicants for SSDI and SSI.

"If Social Security says a player can't work, [ the NFL] should automatically approve him right away," Upshaw said in press reports. "We shouldn't have to have him go through all this other crap." (why is any this not evoking any empathy on my part).

What could these people be thinking? Haven't they been reading the news lately? The Social Security disability determination process is as broken as any public program can be. Nationally nearly 70% of people who apply are initially turned down for disability benefits. The SSA appeals process is a waiting game measured in long years. Many people are winding through this grinding and demeaning process that can last 3 and 4 years. Holding the SSA disability process out as a paragon of any kind of efficiency is just about as uninformed as one could be in these United States. SSA's disability process is certainly not a model for solution to anyone's disability assistance needs with the agency's service problems.

Perhaps all this seemingly intellectual decision is an attempt to avoid Congressional intervention. A House Judiciary Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law hearing is scheduled for June 26 .

Why is any of this important? From a national disability benefit policy standpoint, it is just not wise for private disability providers to set a precedent that includes a prior approval by the Social Security Administration for private disability benefits. The NFL might want to use the SSA standards, but they do not need to pile-on the already overburdened and inefficient Social Security Administration application process with its labor problems.

© Daniel Scarborough, 2007

House Bill to Eliminate 5-month Waiting Period for Terminally Ill

Occasionally you see some legislation out of Congress that shows some real insight to problems faced by people who become disabled. Yesterday (6/14/07) Congressman Chip Pickering (R-MS) introduced the Joseph H Seal Act of 2007 (HR 2713). Seal, a Mississippi veteran with terminal cancer, was eligible for Social Security disability benefits but died before he could be receive the benefits.

Congressman Pickering said, “Currently there is no provision that allows a Social Security disability case, no matter how qualified and necessary, to bypass the automatic five-month waiting period from approval to receipt. For terminally ill individuals, this could mean that after a life time of putting money into Social Security, they might pass away before receiving their approved benefits. Obviously moved by the situation Congressman Pickering noted , "This isn’t just about the money. Joseph Seal is a man who served his country and worked hard his whole life. He was diagnosed with terminal cancer; approved to receive disability benefits; and then because of the inflexibility of government rules, passed away before he could receive his first check. This legislation allows a waiver [of the 5-month waiting period] for a terminally ill beneficiary.”

Congressman Pickering was joined by bill co-sponsor Congressman Earl Pomeroy (D-N.D.) who added, “There is an unacceptable backlog of disability claims waiting to be processed by the Social Security Administration, leaving thousands of people in North Dakota and across the country without the benefits they’ve earned,” Congressman Pomeroy said, “This bill will expedite the delivery of disability benefits to people who are terminally ill and require Social Security to find ways to improve the evaluation process and promptly deliver benefits to those who qualify”

The Joseph H Seal Act legislation directs the Commissioner of SSA to waive the statutory five-month waiting period for disability benefits when an individual is terminally ill. The measure also requires the Commissioner of Social Security to conduct a study of the Social Security disability claims process and make recommendations to Congress for improvements and reforms.

The legislation was sent to the Social Security Subcommittee of the House Ways and Means committee for further action.

The National PASS Network applauds this proposed legislation, but we also encourage Congress to end the two-year wait for Medicare medical coverage. When people are disabled is when they need medical coverage the most, not two years after they die.

Disability Cost of War Won't Go Away

Just a reminder of a study in January at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government that the total projected cost of providing medical care and disability benefits to veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan at $350 billion to $700 billion.