‘Undue burden on the people of Maine’: Social security policy change for newborns rescinded
By Adam Bartow
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AUGUSTA, Maine (WMTW) — The Social Security Administration has rescinded an order that temporarily ended the enumeration at birth program in the state.
The program has been an option for Maine parents for decades, allowing them to fill out applications for Social Security numbers for newborns as part of the birth registration process before leaving the hospital.
Earlier this week, a letter was sent this week to hospitals, medical providers and municipal clerks from the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, and Maine’s Total Coverage obtained it, saying the program had been terminated and that parents of newborns in Maine must now take their children to a Social Security Administration office to register them and apply for a number instead of filling out the paperwork at the hospital when the child is born.
Almost all parents in Maine utilized the EAB to obtain an SSN for their child, Maine DHHS said.
However, on Friday, that order was rescinded. Lee Dudek, Acting Commissioner of the SSA released a statement saying “I recently directed Social Security employees to end two contracts which affected the good people of the state of Maine. The two contracts are Enumeration at Birth (EAB), which helps new parents quickly request a Social Security number and card for their newborn before leaving the hospital, and Electronic Death Registry (EDR) which shares recorded deaths with Social Security.
“In retrospect, I realize that ending these contracts created an undue burden on the people of Maine, which was not the intent. For that, I apologize and have directed that both contracts be immediately reinstated. EAB and EDR continue in place for every state and were not affected.
“As a leader, I will admit my mistakes and make them right.”
Maine has eight Social Security offices: Auburn, Augusta, Bangor, Portland, Presque Isle, Rockland, Saco and Waterville.
Earlier this week, Maine’s Total Coverage reported that the field office in Presque Isle had been included on a list of federal properties the General Services Administration was considering selling.
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