[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