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Updated June 2026 · SSA Public

Hearing Office

NHC BALTIMORE

Unassigned region

Avg processing

332days

+66 vs national

Processing time

332

11.1 months

Hearing wait

Cases pending

0

FY receipts

-893

FY dispositions

1,140

Active judges

8

Video hearings

87%

of hearings held

Avg approval rate

46.4%

-11.3 vs avg

Backlog ratio

-0.78

Shrinking

Rank

Unranked

Processing time in context

Fastest · 72 daysAvg · 266 daysSlowest · 680 days

The draw · approval spread across 7 judges

34%
54%
0%Median 47.6%100%

At NHC BALTIMORE, approval rates range from 34.2% (Loughlin, John) to 54.2% (Bozarth, Shawn) — a 20-pointspread. Assignment is effectively the luck of the draw, so the judge a case lands with can matter more than the office’s average. Plan for the median (47.6%), not the best case.

Judges at NHC BALTIMORE (8)

JudgeApprovalDecisionsFavorableDeniedTrend
Grunberg, Hope66.7%321
Bozarth, Shawn54.2%19010387
Hammock, Melissa53.0%266141125
Benton, Amy51.5%331716
Barker, Paul47.6%20698108
Dillon, Christopher44.4%813645
Woode, Charles36.5%1264680
Loughlin, John34.2%18764123