[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 196 (Tuesday, October 12, 2010)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 62487-62488]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-25503]
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SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION
20 CFR Parts 404, 405, and 416
[Docket No. SSA-2007-0053]
Compassionate Allowances for Cardiovascular Disease and Multiple
Organ Transplants, Office of the Commissioner, Hearing
AGENCY: Social Security Administration.
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 minimal objective medical information. We are calling this method
``Compassionate Allowances.'' In December 2007, April 2008, November
2008, July 2009, and November 2009, we held Compassionate Allowance
public hearings. These hearings concerned rare diseases, cancers,
traumatic brain injury and stroke, early-onset Alzheimer's disease and
related dementias, and schizophrenia, respectively. This hearing is the
sixth 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 both adults and children with
cardiovascular diseases and multiple organ transplants. We plan to
address other medical conditions at subsequent hearings.
DATES: This hearing will be held on November 9, 2010, between 8:30 a.m.
and 5 p.m., Eastern Standard Time (EST), in Baltimore, MD. The hearing
will be held on the campus of the University of Maryland, Baltimore
County in the University Center Ballroom. The university's address is
1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250. 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., Eastern Standard Time (EST). You may access the Webcast line for
the hearing on the Social Security Administration Web site
[[Page 62488]]
at http://www.socialsecurity.gov/compassionateallowances/.
ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments about the compassionate
allowances initiative with respect to adults and children with
cardiovascular disease and multiple organ transplants, as well as
topics covered at the hearing by:
(1) e-mail addressed to [email protected]; or (2)
mail to Jamillah Jackson, Deputy 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
hearing.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: [email protected]. You
may also mail inquiries about this hearing to Jamillah Jackson, Deputy
Director, Office of Compassionate Allowances and Disability Outreach,
ODP, ORDP, Social Security Administration, 4671 Annex Building, 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 with minimal objective medical evidence alone. To
better address the needs of these individuals, we are looking into ways
to allow benefits as quickly as possible 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 five hearings since December 2007. These hearings were
on rare diseases, cancers, traumatic brain injury and stroke, early-
onset Alzheimer's disease and related dementias and schizophrenia. 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 Programs Nos. 96.001, Social
Security--Disability Insurance; 96.006, Supplemental Security
Income.)
Michael J. Astrue,
Commissioner of Social Security.
[FR Doc. 2010-25503 Filed 10-8-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4191-02-P