[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 209 (Friday, October 30, 2009)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 56140-56141]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-26194]


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SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION

20 CFR Parts 404, 405, and 416

[Docket No. SSA-2007-0053]


Compassionate Allowances for Schizophrenia; Office of the 
Commissioner, Hearing

AGENCY: Social Security Administration (SSA).

ACTION: Announcement of public hearing.

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SUMMARY: We are considering ways to quickly identify diseases and other 
serious medical conditions that obviously meet the definition of 
disability under the Social Security Act (Act) and can be identified 
with

[[Page 56141]]

minimal objective medical information. We are calling this method 
``Compassionate Allowances.'' In December 2007, April 2008, November 
2008, and July 2009, we held Compassionate Allowance public hearings. 
These hearings concerned rare diseases, cancers, traumatic brain injury 
and stroke, early-onset alzheimer's and related dementias, 
respectively. This hearing is the fifth in the series. The purpose of 
this hearing is to obtain your views about the advisability and 
possible methods of identifying and implementing compassionate 
allowances for young adults with Schizophrenia. We plan to address 
other medical conditions at subsequent hearings.

DATES: This hearing will be held on November 18, 2009, between 8:30 
a.m. and 5 p.m., Pacific Standard Time (PST), in San Francisco, CA. The 
hearing will be held at the Parc 55 Hotel in the Cyril Magnin Room. The 
hotel's address is 55 Cyril Magnin Street, San Francisco, CA 94102. 
While the public is welcome to attend the hearing, only invited 
witnesses will present testimony. You may also watch the proceedings 
live via Webcast beginning at 9 a.m., Pacific Standard Time (PST). You 
may access the Webcast line for the hearing on the Social Security 
Administration Web site at http://www.socialsecurity.gov/compassionate 
allowances/hearings.htm.

ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments about the compassionate 
allowances initiative with respect to young adults with Schizophrenia, 
as well as topics covered at the hearing by (1) e-mail addressed to 
[email protected]; or (2) mail to Nancy Schoenberg, 
Acting Director, Office of Compassionate Allowances and Disability 
Outreach, ODP, ORDP, Social Security Administration, 4671 Annex 
Building, 6401 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21235-6401. We welcome 
your comments, but we may not respond directly to comments sent in 
response to this notice of the hearing.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: [email protected]. You 
may also mail inquiries about this meeting to Nancy Schoenberg, Acting 
Director, Office of Compassionate Allowances and Disability Outreach, 
ODP, ORDP, Social Security Administration, 4671 Annex, 6401 Security 
Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21235-6401. For information on eligibility or 
filing for benefits, call our national toll-free number 1-800-772-1213 
or TTY 1-800-325-0778, or visit Social Security online, at http://www.socialsecurity.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    Under titles II and XVI of the Act, we pay benefits to individuals 
who meet our rules for entitlement and have medically determinable 
physical or mental impairments that are severe enough to meet the 
definition of disability in the Act. The rules for determining 
disability can be very complicated, but some individuals have such 
serious medical conditions that their conditions obviously meet our 
disability standards. To better address the needs of these individuals, 
we are implementing the Compassionate Allowance initiative to quickly 
identify diseases and other medical conditions that invariably qualify 
under the Listing of Impairments based on minimal objective medical 
information.

Will We Respond to Your Comments?

    We will carefully consider your comments, although we will not 
respond directly to comments sent in response to this notice or the 
hearing.

Additional Hearings

    We have held four hearings since December 2007. The hearings were 
on rare diseases, cancers, and traumatic brain injury (TBI) and stroke, 
early-onset alzheimer's and related dementias. You may access the 
transcripts of the hearings at http://www.socialsecurity.gov/compassionateallowances. We plan to hold additional hearings on other 
conditions and will announce those hearings later with notices in the 
Federal Register.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Program Nos. 96.001, Social 
Security--Disability Insurance; 96.006, Supplemental Security 
Income. (72 FR at 62608).

    Dated: October 26, 2009.
Michael J. Astrue,
Commissioner of Social Security.
[FR Doc. E9-26194 Filed 10-29-09; 8:45 am]
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