Social Security Administration – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents
Results 851 - 900 of 1,503
Consent Based Social Security Number Verification (CBSV) Service
We provide limited fee-based Social Security number (SSN) verification service to private businesses and other requesters who obtain a valid, signed consent form from the Social Security number holder. We originally published a notice announcing the CBSV service in the Federal Register on August 10, 2007. Based on the consent forms, we verify the number holders' SSNs for the requesting party. The Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a(b)), section 1106 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1306) and our regulation at 20 CFR 401.100, establish the legal authority for us to provide SSN verifications to third party requesters based on consent. The CBSV process provides the business community and other government entities with consent-based disclosures in high volume. We developed CBSV as a user-friendly, internet-based application with safeguards that will protect the public's information. In addition to the benefit of providing high volume, centralized SSN verification services to the business community in a secure manner, CBSV provides us with cost and workload management benefits. New Information: To use CBSV, interested parties must pay a one- time non-refundable enrollment fee of $5,000. Currently, users also pay a fee of $5.00 per transaction in advance of services. We agreed to calculate our costs periodically for providing CBSV services and adjust the fees as needed. We also agreed to notify our customers who currently use the service and allow them to cancel or continue using the service at the new transaction fee. Based on the most recent cost analysis, we will adjust the fiscal year 2012 fee to $1.05 per transaction. New customers will still be responsible for the one-time $5,000 enrollment fee.
Expedited Vocational Assessment Under the Sequential Evaluation Process
We propose to give adjudicators the discretion to proceed to the fifth step of the sequential evaluation process for assessing disability when we have insufficient information about a claimant's past relevant work history to make the findings required for step 4. If an adjudicator finds at step 5 that a claimant may be unable to adjust to other work existing in the national economy, the adjudicator would return to the fourth step to develop the claimant's work history and make a finding about whether the claimant can perform his or her past relevant work. This proposed new process would not disadvantage any claimant or change the ultimate conclusion about whether a claimant is disabled, but it would promote administrative efficiency and help us make more timely disability determinations and decisions.
Titles II and XVI: Documenting and Evaluating Disability in Young Adults
In accordance with 20 CFR 402.35(b)(1), the Commissioner of Social Security gives notice of Social Security Ruling, SSR-11-2p. This Ruling explains our policy on documenting and evaluating disability in young adults.
Requiring Use of Electronic Services by Certain Claimant Representatives
We are revising our rules to require that claimant representatives use our electronic services as they become available on matters for which the representatives request direct fee payment. In the future, we will publish a notice in the Federal Register when we require representatives who request direct fee payment on a matter to use our available electronic services. We are also adding the requirement to use our available electronic services on matters for which the representative requests direct fee payment as an affirmative duty in our representative conduct rules. These revisions reflect the increased use of technology in representatives' business practices. We expect that the use of electronic services will improve our efficiency by allowing us to manage our workloads more effectively. These rules do not require claimants to use our available electronic services directly; they only require their representatives to use the services on matters for which the representatives request direct fee payment.
Protecting the Public and Our Personnel to Ensure Operational Effectiveness
We are publishing the process we follow when we ban an individual from entering our field offices. Due to escalating reports of threats to our personnel and our customers in our offices, we are taking steps to increase the level of protection we provide. We expect that this rule will result in a safer environment for our personnel and members of the public who use our facilities, while ensuring that we continue to serve the American people with as little disruption to our operations as possible.
Agency Self-Evaluation Under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; Public Forums on Accessibility for Individuals With Disabilities
On November 5, 2010, we announced that we were initiating a self-evaluation of our policies and practices supporting Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Section 504 requires Federal agencies to provide meaningful access to their programs, activities, and facilities for qualified persons with disabilities.
Social Security Ruling 11-1p; Titles II and XVI: Procedures for Handling Requests To File Subsequent Applications for Disability Benefits
We are giving notice of SSR 11-1p, in which we explain our new procedures for handling your request to file a disability claim when you have a pending claim of the same title and benefit type in our administrative review process. This change will allow us to more efficiently use our limited resources to handle the increase in the number of initial disability claims that we have seen in light of the economic downturn.
Revisions to Direct Fee Payment Rules
We are revising our rules to implement amendments to the Social Security Act (Act) made by the Social Security Disability Applicants' Access to Professional Representation Act of 2010 (PRA). We are making permanent the direct fee payment rules for eligible non- attorney representatives under titles II and XVI of the Act and for attorney representatives under title XVI of the Act. We also are revising some of our eligibility policies for non-attorney representatives under titles II and XVI of the Act.
Electronic Substitutions for Form SSA-538
We are revising our regulations to reflect our use of electronic case processing at the initial and reconsideration levels of our administrative review process. Our prior rule required adjudicators at these levels to complete a Form SSA-538, Childhood Disability Evaluation Form, in all cases of children alleging disability or continuing disability under title XVI of the Social Security Act (Act). However, we developed and now use a Web-based tool that assists our adjudicators in making disability determinations in several States, and we plan to expand its use to other States. We are revising our regulation to reflect the new tool. We are not changing the requirement that State agency medical and psychological consultants must affirm the accuracy and completeness of their findings of fact and discussion of the supporting evidence, only the manner in which they may provide the required findings and affirmation. We expect that this revision will improve our efficiency by increasing our use of electronic resources.
Amendments to Regulations Regarding Major Life-Changing Events Affecting Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amounts to Medicare Part B Premiums
This final rule adopts, without change, the interim final rule with request for comments we published in the Federal Register on July 15, 2010 at 75 FR 41084. The interim final rule concerned what we consider major life-changing events for the Medicare Part B income- related monthly adjustment amount (IRMAA) and what evidence we require to support a claim of a major life-changing event. This final rule allows us to respond appropriately to circumstances brought about by the current economic climate and other unforeseen events, as described below.
Retrospective Review Under E.O. 13563
In accordance with Executive Order (E.O.) 13563, ``Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review,'' we are announcing that our preliminary plan for retrospective review is available for public comment. We are now requesting comments on the plan.
On behalf of the Accessibility Committee of the Federal Chief Information Officers Council; Listening Session Regarding Improving the Accessibility of Government Information
This notice announces a listening session that the CIO Council is conducting in response to a memo dated July 19, 2010 from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on ``Improving the Accessibility of Government Information''. Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C. 794d) requires Federal agencies to buy and use electronic and information technology (EIT) that is accessible. The July memo directs agencies to take stronger steps toward improving the acquisition and implementation of accessible technology. In order to better understand the needs of diverse communities and provide better solutions, the Federal Chief Information Officers Council (CIOC), in collaboration with the Chief Acquisition Officers Council, the GSA Office of Governmentwide Policy and the U.S. Access Board, has held several in a series of listening sessions to engage citizens and employees in expressing concerns and proposing ideas. The next listening session will be at Stanford University 450 Serra Mall, Stanford, CA 94305 and will include time for generating a dialogue with technology companies. It will also include time for general comments from the public. Representatives from technology companies, persons with disabilities, their advocates, and government employees are invited to participate.
Eliminating the Decision Review Board
We are eliminating the Decision Review Board (DRB) portions of part 405 of our rules, which we currently use as the final step in our administrative review process for adjudicating initial disability claims in our Boston region. As of the effective date of this regulation, we will replace the DRB step with review by the Appeals Council. The Appeals Council will follow most of the rules in parts 404 and 416 that we use in the rest of the country to adjudicate disability claims at the Appeals Council level, with some differences needed to accommodate the rules that govern administrative law judge (ALJ) hearings in the Boston region. We will also authorize attorney advisors in the Boston region to conduct certain prehearing proceedings and make fully favorable decisions as they do in the rest of the country. We are making these changes to improve service to claimants and to increase consistency in our program rules.
Privacy Act of 1974; as Amended; Proposed Alteration to an Existing Privacy Act System of Records, Housekeeping Changes, and New Routine Use
In accordance with the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a(e)(4) and (e)(11)), we are issuing public notice of our intent to alter an existing system of records, make housekeeping and other miscellaneous changes, and add a routine use applicable to our system of records entitled the Listing and Alphabetical Name File (Folder) of Vocational Experts, Medical Experts, and Other Health Care Professional and/or Non-Health Care Professional Experts (Medicare) (60-0012). Hereinafter, we will refer to the system as the File (Folder) and Hearing Availability and Scheduling Information of Vocational Experts, Medical Experts, Other Health Care Professional and/or Non-Health Care Professional Experts (Medicare), and Verbatim Hearing Reporters. We propose the following changes: Change the system of records name from the Listing and Alphabetical Name File (Folder) of Vocational Experts, Medical Experts, and Other Health Care Professional and/or Non-Health Care Professional Experts (Medicare) to the File (Folder) and Hearing Availability and Scheduling Information of Vocational Experts, Medical Experts, Other Health Care Professional and/or Non-Health Care Professional Experts (Medicare), and Verbatim Hearing Reporters to more accurately reflect the functions and persons covered by the system of records. Expand the category of persons covered by the system of records to include persons who provide verbatim reporter services. Expand the category of records we maintain in the system of records to include Social Security number (SSN), employer identification number, primary specialty, business address(es), and telephone numbers; e.g., business, fax and cell phone. The expanded category also will include the blanket purchase agreement number, contract beginning and ending dates, renewal date, termination date, and termination reason. Add new routine use number 9 to the system of records to allow us to disclose information to the Department of Treasury to assist in collecting erroneous payments made to persons who provide services in disability and non-disability hearing cases. Edit the document to ensure a more reader-friendly document and correct miscellaneous and stylistic format errors. We discuss the system of records changes in the Supplementary Information section below. We invite public comments on this proposal.
Privacy Act of 1974, as Amended; Computer Matching Program (SSA/Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS))-Match Number 1076
In accordance with the provisions of the Privacy Act, as amended, this notice announces a renewal of an existing computer matching program that we are currently conducting with CMS.
How We Collect and Consider Evidence of Disability
We propose to modify the requirement to recontact your medical source(s) first when we need to resolve an inconsistency or insufficiency in the evidence he or she provided. Depending on the nature of the inconsistency or insufficiency, there may be other, more appropriate sources from whom we could obtain the information we need. By giving adjudicators more flexibility in determining how best to obtain this information, we will be able to make a determination or decision on disability claims more quickly and efficiently in certain situations. Eventually, our need to recontact your medical source(s) in many situations will be significantly reduced as a result of our efforts to improve the evidence collection process through the increased utilization of Health Information Technology (HIT).
Revised Medical Criteria for Evaluating Endocrine Disorders
We are revising the criteria in the Listing of Impairments (the listings) that we use to evaluate claims under titles II and XVI of the Social Security Act (Act) involving endocrine disorders in adults and children. The revisions reflect our adjudicative experience, advances in medical knowledge, information from medical experts, and comments we received from the public in response to an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM), a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM), and at an outreach policy conference.
Extension of Sunset Date for Attorney Advisor Program
We are extending for 2 years our rule authorizing attorney advisors to conduct certain prehearing procedures and to issue fully favorable decisions. The current rule will expire on August 10, 2011. In this final rule, we are extending the sunset date to August 9, 2013. We are making no other substantive changes.
Technical Correction for Neurological Listing Cross-Reference
We are making a technical correction to a listing in the neurological body system in the Listing of Impairments. We are correcting a cross-reference that became outdated when we published revisions elsewhere in the Listing of Impairments in 2010. This technical correction will provide an updated cross-reference to conform to the 2010 revisions.
Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery
As part of a Federal Government-wide effort to streamline the process to seek feedback from the public on service delivery, the SSA has submitted a Generic Information Collection Request (Generic ICR): ``Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery'' to OMB for approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501 et. seq.). Your comments would be most useful if OMB and SSA receive them within 30 days from the date of this publication. To be sure we consider your comments, we must receive them no later than April 18, 2011. Mail, email, or fax your comments and recommendations to the OMB Desk Officer and SSA Reports Clearance Officer at the following addresses or fax numbers. (OMB), Office of Management and Budget, Attn: Desk Officer for SSA, Fax: 202-395-6974, E-mail address: OIRA_Submission@omb.eop.gov. (SSA), Social Security Administration, DCBFM, Attn: Reports Clearance Officer, 1333 Annex Building, 6401 Security Blvd., Baltimore, MD 21235, Fax: 410-965-6400, E-mail address: OPLM.RCO@ssa.gov.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google
Privacy Policy and
Terms of Service apply.
