HEARINGS BY VIDEO-TELECONFERENCE - OPT OUT OR ACCEPT?
It is no secret that Social Security is backlogged in trying to hold hearings. And we all know it is taking up to 24 months for a claimant to get a hearing scheduled. The obvious answer would be for Social Security to hire an adequate number of administrative law judges; however, Congress simply will not appropriate enough money for that. So, how does the Social Security Administration react? By offering claimants the option to have a hearing by video-teleconference (VTC). At a VTC, the claimant and representative appear in a hearing center near the claimant's home. However, the judge may be in another city, even another state. Witnesses called by Social Security, such as the vocational expert, may be anywhere: in the room with the claimant, in the room with the distant judge, or even at home and testifying via telephone (hopefully with a good connec tion). Why would a claimant sign up for a n a rrangement like a hear...