Biomedical subjects

Social Security Administration (SSA)

Publications and source records attributed to Social Security Administration (SSA).

11 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Exemption of work activity as a basis for a continuing disability review. Final rules.

We are publishing these final rules to amend our regulations to carry out section 221(m) of the Social Security Act (the Act). Section 221(m) affects our rules for when we will conduct a continuing disability review if you work and receive benefits under title II of the Act based on disability. (We interpret this section to include you if you receive both title II disability benefits and title XVI (Supplemental Security Income (SSI)) payments based on disability.) It also affects our rules on how we evaluate work activity when we decide if you have engaged in substantial gainful activity for purposes of determining whether your disability has ended. In addition, section 221(m) of the Act affects certain other standards we use when we determine whether your disability continues or ends. We are also amending our regulations concerning how we determine whether your disability continues or ends. These revisions will codify our existing operating instructions for how we consider certain work at the last two steps of our continuing disability review process. We are also revising our disability regulations to incorporate some rules which are contained in another part of our regulations and which apply if you are using a ticket under the Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency program (the Ticket to Work program). In addition, we are amending our regulations to eliminate the secondary substantial gainful activity amount that we currently use to evaluate work you did as an employee before January 2001.

Disability Evaluation↗

PubMed2006

Medicare Part B income-related monthly adjustment amount. Final rules.

We are adding to our regulations a new subpart, Medicare Part B Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount, to contain the rules we will follow for Medicare Part B income-related monthly adjustment amount determinations. The monthly adjustment amount represents the amount of decrease in the Medicare Part B premium subsidy, i.e. the amount of the Federal Government's contribution to the Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance (SMI) Trust Fund. This new subpart implements section 811 of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (the Medicare Modernization Act or MMA) and contains the rules for determining when, based on income, a monthly adjustment amount will be added to a Medicare Part B beneficiary's standard monthly premium. These final rules describe: What the new subpart is about; what information we will use to determine whether you will pay an income-related monthly adjustment amount and the amount of the adjustment when applicable; when we will consider a major life-changing event that results in a significant reduction in your modified adjusted gross income; and how you can appeal our determination about your income-related monthly adjustment amount.

Humans↗

PubMed2006

Representative payment policies and administrative procedure for imposing penalties for false or misleading statements or withholding of information. Final rules.

We are amending our regulations on representative payment and on the administrative procedure for imposing penalties for false or misleading statements or withholding of information to reflect and implement certain provisions of the Social Security Protection Act of 2004 (SSPA). The SSPA amends representative payment policies by providing additional safeguards for Social Security, Special Veterans and Supplemental Security Income beneficiaries served by representative payees. These changes include additional disqualifying factors for representative payee applicants, additional requirements for non-governmental fee-for-service payees, authority to redirect delivery of benefit payments when a representative payee fails to provide required accountings, and authority to treat misused benefits as an overpayment to the representative payee. In addition, we are amending our rules to explain financial requirements for representative payees, and we have made minor clarifying plain language changes. The SSPA also allows us to impose a penalty on any person who knowingly withholds information that is material for use in determining any right to, or the amount of, monthly benefits under titles II or XVI. The penalty is nonpayment for a specified number of months of benefits under title II that would otherwise be payable and ineligibility for the same period of time for payments under title XVI (including State supplementary payments).

Fraud↗

PubMed2005

Medicare Part D subsidies. Final rules.

We are adding to our regulations a new part to contain rules that we will apply when we evaluate applications for premium and cost-sharing subsidies under the Medicare program. We are including a new subpart, Medicare Part D Subsidies, to this part. This new subpart contains the rules that we use to determine eligibility for premium and cost-sharing subsidies under the Medicare Part D program, which was added by the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (Medicare Modernization Act or MMA). These final rules describe: What the new subpart is about; how we determine whether you are eligible for premium and cost-sharing subsidies; how we redetermine your eligibility for a subsidy; how you apply for a subsidy; how we evaluate your income and resources; when your eligibility for premium and cost-sharing subsidies terminates; how you may report changes in your circumstances; and how you can appeal a determination we make under the Part D subsidy program.

Cost Sharing↗

PubMed2005

Extension of the expiration date for several body system listings. Final rule.

We use the Listing of Impairments (the listings) at the third step of the sequential evaluation process when we evaluate your claim for benefits based on disability under title II and title XVI of the Social Security Act (the Act). This final rule extends until July 3, 2006, the date on which listings for four body systems will no longer be effective and extends until July 2, 2007, the date on which the listings for eight body systems will no longer be effective. Other than extending the date during which the listings will be effective, we have made no revisions to the listings; they remain the same as they now appear in the Code of Federal Regulations. This extension will ensure that we continue to have the medical evaluation criteria in the listings to adjudicate disability claims in these body systems at step three of the sequential evaluation process.

Eligibility Determination↗

PubMed2005

Nonpayment of benefits when the Social Security Administration receives notice that an insured person is departed or removed from the United States. Final rule.

To implement part of the Social Security Protection Act of 2004 (SSPA), we are revising our regulations that prohibit payment of monthly benefits and the lump sum death payment under title II of the Social Security Act (the Act) when SSA receives notice that an insured person is deported or removed from the United States under certain provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).

Emigration and Immigration↗

PubMed2003

Elimination of sanctions for refusal of vocational rehabilitation services without good cause. Final rule.

We are amending our regulations to remove provisions relating to the imposition of benefit sanctions on account of a beneficiary's refusal of rehabilitation services. We are making these changes to reflect the repeal of sections 222(b) and 1615(c) of the Social Security Act (the Act). Prior to their repeal, these sections of the Act authorized the Commissioner of Social Security to impose sanctions against the benefits of a disabled or blind beneficiary who refused, without good cause, to accept rehabilitation services made available by a State vocational rehabilitation (VR) agency. The Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999 repealed these sections of the Act, effective January 1, 2001. We are amending our regulations by removing rules and related provisions that are obsolete as a result of the repeal of these sections of the Act to conform our regulations to the changes in the statute.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

Claimant identification pilot projects. Final rules.

We are revising our regulations that pertain to the processing of initial claims for disability benefits under title II (Social Security Disability Insurance) and title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) of the Social Security Act (the Act). We will be conducting pilot projects wherein we will request photographic identification from individuals filing for title II and title XVI disability and blindness benefits in specified geographic areas covered by the pilot projects. In addition, we will require individuals to allow us to take their photograph and we will make these photographs a part of the claims folder. We will permit an exception to the photograph requirement when an individual has a sincere religious objection. This process will strengthen the integrity of the disability claims process by helping to ensure that the individual filing the application is the same individual examined by the consultative examination (CE) physician.

Confidentiality↗

PubMed2002

Technical revisions to medical criteria for determinations of disability. Final rules.

These final rules make a number of technical revisions to the Listing of Impairments (the listings). We use the listings when you claim benefits based on disability under titles II and XVI of the Social Security Act (the Act). We are making these revisions to reflect advances in medical knowledge, treatment and terminology, to clarify certain criteria in the listings, to remove listings that we rarely use, and to add new listings consistent with current medical practice. We are making these individual technical revisions in order to improve our medical listings and make them easier to understand and use.

Adult↗

PubMed2001

The ticket to work and self-sufficiency program. Final rules.

We are publishing final regulations implementing the Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency Program (Ticket to Work program) authorized by the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999. The Ticket to Work program provides beneficiaries with disabilities with expanded options for access to employment services, vocational rehabilitation services, or other support services. We will pay the providers of those services after the beneficiaries achieve certain levels of work.

Persons with Disabilities↗

PubMed2001

Revised medical criteria for determination of disability, musculoskeletal system and related criteria. Final rules with request for comments.

We are revising the criteria in the Listing of Impairments (the listings) that we use to evaluate musculoskeletal impairments in adults and children who claim Social Security or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits based on disability under titles II and XVI of the Social Security Act (the Act). There visions reflect advances in medical knowledge, treatment, and methods of evaluating musculoskeletal impairments. When the final rules become effective, we will apply them to new applications filed on or after the effective date of the rules and to other claims described in the preamble. Individuals who currently receive benefits will not lose eligibility as a result of these final rules. Also, although some individuals with musculoskeletal impairments will not meet the requirements of these final listings, they may still be found disabled at a later step in the sequential evaluation process based on their functional limitations.

Adult↗