Letter to Carolyn Colvin, Acting Commissioner of the Social Security Administration - Extend Claims Time Frame

Letter

May 29, 2015

Acting Commissioner Carolyn Colvin
Social Security Administration
6401 Security Boulevard, 3100 West High Rise
Baltimore, MD 21235-0001

Dear Acting Commissioner Colvin:

Stemming from recent reports of alleged fraud in the Social Security Administration's (SSA) Disability Program, many claimants in Kentucky and West Virginia are receiving letters from the Social Security Administration informing them that their Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) assistance and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits are being suspended. The alleged fraud stems from cases that were represented by attorney Eric C. Conn and assigned to former administrative law judge David B. Daugherty using evidence from four healthcare providers: Frederic Huffnagle, David Herr, Bradley Adkins, and Srinivas Ammisetty.

Unfortunately, these affected claimants have been given only 10 days to supply additional evidence in order to ensure the continuation of their benefits. While we remain concerned about the alleged fraud and abuse of SSDI benefits, we believe consideration should be provided to those individuals that are rightfully receiving benefits. They should certainly be provided adequate time to produce evidence before their benefits are terminated, and 10 days may not be enough time for many to obtain medical records and histories.

It also appears that there is a discrepancy in how Social Security field offices are addressing these cases. In some instances, field offices are turning away claimants, while in others they are granting extensions. Given that this is an unworkably short time frame to produce sufficient additional evidence, we request that these individuals be given an additional 90 days to provide SSA with evidence regarding their eligibility of benefits.

Additionally, we request that you produce a standard guideline or plan for these claimants to ensure that they can provide the necessary documentation regarding eligibility of benefits. We encourage you to prioritize the well-being of our constituents as you move forward in your investigation and appreciate your efforts to keep us and our staffs informed as SSA moves forward to address our above concerns.

Sincerely,

Congressman Evan Jenkins
Congressman Hal Rogers

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