Social Security Administration December 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

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.

These regulations reflect and implement amendments to the Social Security Act (the Act) made by part of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (IRTPA). Section 7213(a)(1)(A) of the IRTPA requires that we limit individuals to three replacement SSN cards per year and ten replacement SSN cards during a lifetime. The provision permits us to allow for reasonable exceptions from these limits on a case-by-case basis in compelling circumstances. This provision also helps us to further strengthen the security and integrity of the SSN issuance process. The limits on replacement SSN cards will be established prospectively, effective no later than December 17, 2005, regardless of the date we issue final rules in the Federal Register.

We are amending our rules regarding service of legal process in lawsuits involving judicial review of Agency final decisions on individual claims for benefits under titles II, VIII, and/or XVI of the Social Security Act (Act). Under the current rules, summonses and complaints in these types of cases are required to be sent to the Social Security Administration (SSA), Office of the General Counsel (OGC) in Baltimore, Maryland. These final rules provide that summonses and complaints in these types of cases shall be mailed directly to the OGC office that is responsible for the processing and handling of litigation in the particular jurisdiction in which the complaint has been filed. The names and addresses of those offices, and the jurisdictions for which they are currently responsible, are detailed in a separate notice in the Notices section of today's Federal Register. Future changes in the addresses and/or jurisdictional responsibilities of these offices will similarly be published in the Federal Register. Current procedures for service of summonses and complaints in all other types of cases filed against SSA, i.e., those that do not involve judicial review of Agency final decisions on individual claims for benefits under titles II, VIII, and/or XVI of the Act, are not affected by this change.

We propose to amend our regulations to provide that we will suspend your disability benefits before we make a determination during a continuing disability review (CDR) under title II and title XVI of the Social Security Act (the Act) when you fail to comply with our request for necessary information. Should you remain non-compliant for a period of one year following your suspension, we will then terminate your disability benefits. Although our current title XVI regulations generally provide for the termination of payments after 12 months of suspension, we are proposing to amend our regulations by adding this policy to our title II regulations and by restating it in the title XVI CDR regulatory provisions.