Sunday, September 20, 2009

Long Lines for Disability

No… no lines could possibly happen if government took over health care. 

The average wait for a claims hearing in Wisconsin is 657 days - one of the longest in the nation, according to an analysis by the Wisconsin State Journal. At the Madison office, which handles La Crosse cases, it’s just short of two years.

Attorney Maureen Kinney said she has one client whose claim is close to three years old.

Even Social Security Commissioner Michael Astrue calls the waits “inexcusable,” saying efforts to address them are being complicated by the national economic downturn and the medical problems of baby boomers that have led more people to the program.

(2) Comments
Posted by Owen at 0930 hrs
Politics + Politics - General + Politics - Wisconsin

  1. Are there long lines to get in to Medicare? That’s the better comparison.  The answer is no. 

    This is not a health care program.  This is about weeding out people who do not belong on disability. 

    If they shoved everyone through quickly you’d be complaining that the government was handing out too much money to people who shouldn’t be getting it.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on September 20, 2009 at 2022 hrs


  2. If they shoved everyone through quickly you’d be complaining that the government was handing out too much money to people who shouldn’t be getting it.

    If they were getting in with little scrutiny, you’d be right.  But in this case, 657 days to even get a hearing has nothing to do with conducting a thorough vetting. 

    And the point is that this is run by government and is one of a litany of examples of government running something poorly.  When even the administrator of the program is saying it’s bad… it’s bad.

    Posted by Owen on September 20, 2009 at 2027 hrs


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