The Muddle Known As
Bureaucracy
A very sick woman
has been denied disability by the federal government. Here is how it works.
After application she receives a denial from the Department of Health and Human
Services (HSS headed by Richard Schweiker) which is a DECISION based on a
“determination” made by the New Jersey State Department of Labor.
The “Determination” is made by the Division of Disability Determinations
of the State Department of Labor headed by Mrs. Blackwell. The denial of
disability comes in a form letter that always seems to say that “you are able
to lift and carry a weight of 10 pounds frequently and up to 20 pounds
occasionally. You can stand six hours, walk six hours and sit six hours.” Then
it says “based on the description of your job – we have determined that you can
return to work.”
Now the patient that I have in mind cannot lift and carry neither
20 pounds nor ten pounds nor can she stand for six hours nor sit for six hours
at a job. She is very sick.
I wanted to learn how the determination was made and became
whipsawed between the federal
In other words, the letter is a fraudulent deception
concocted to deceive
I wanted Mr. Ward to give me the names of the doctors who
made the determination without ever having seen the patient or tested her
capacity. He referred me to the Social; Security Office in
I asked Mr. Ward at Labor why the “determination” could not
be arrived at by the patient’s decision. He said if that were the policy then
every physician would put his or her patients on disability. That the integrity
of 9,000 physicians can be impugned so blithely by a state department should be
of interest to the State Medical Society.
That portions of a letter going to the federal government to
deny disability is actually a form used repeatedly and is fashioned to fit SSH
regulations and has no basis in fact should be of interest to the state Attorney
General and federal Attorney General. The letter by virtue of its fabricated
insert is fraudulent, deceptive and dishonest.
None of the letters that I have received about the case are
signed. I had to call the office of Gov. Thomas Kean to find out which
department of the state was making the “determination” on which
The feds using anonymous determinations from the state to
cushion its decision is a neat ploy that prevents targeting those responsible
for the final solution. No names are
released. No one can find out who the “determining” doctors are, and none of
the Bureaucrats have to do anything other than abide by the law. Kafka
revisited! And nobody feels outraged about this. Deception, lies, misdirection.
If these qualities are used to steal money people are sentenced to jail. If
they are used to rob lives in order to save money, someone may get a raise or
promotion.
It is time this nonsense stopped. It is time this country
eliminated bureaucratic gamesmanship and reclaimed its honor.