[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 236 (Tuesday, December 8, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 79063-79064]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-26911]


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SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION

[Docket No. SSA-2020-0023]


Rescission of Acquiescence Ruling 15-1(4)

AGENCY: Social Security Administration.

ACTION: Notice of Rescission of Social Security Acquiescence Ruling 
(AR) 15-1(4)--Radford v. Colvin, 734 F.3d 288 (4th Cir. 2013)--Standard 
for Meeting the Listing for Disorders of the Spine with Evidence of 
Nerve Root Compression.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with 20 CFR 402.35(b)(2), 404.985(e) and 
416.1485(e), the Commissioner of Social Security gives notice of the 
rescission of Social Security Acquiescence Ruling 15-1(4).

DATES: We will apply this rescission notice on April 2, 2021.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cheryl A. Williams, Office of 
Disability Policy, Social Security Administration, 6401 Security 
Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21235-6401, (410) 965-1020 or TTY 410-966-
5609. 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 our internet site, Social Security Online, at http://www.socialsecurity.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: An AR explains how we will apply the holding 
in a decision of a United States Court of Appeals that we determine 
conflicts with our interpretation of a provision of the Social Security 
Act (Act) or regulations when the Government has decided not to seek 
further review of that decision or is unsuccessful on further review.
    As provided by 20 CFR 404.985(e)(4) and 416.1485(e)(4), we may 
rescind an AR as obsolete and apply our interpretation of the Act or 
regulations if we subsequently clarify, modify or revoke the regulation 
or ruling that was the subject of a circuit court holding that we 
determined conflicts with our interpretation of the Act or regulations.
    On September 23, 2015, we published AR 15-1(4) (80 FR 57418) to 
reflect the holding in Radford v. Colvin, 734 F.3d 288 (4th Cir. 2013). 
In Radford, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit 
held that listing 1.04A required a claimant to show only ``that each of 
the symptoms are present, and that the claimant has suffered or can be 
expected to suffer from nerve root compression continuously for at 
least 12 months,'' 734 F.3d at 294. Contrary to our policy that the 
requisite level of severity requires the simultaneous presence of all 
the medical criteria in paragraph A, the Court of Appeals held that a 
claimant need not show that each criterion was present simultaneously 
or in particularly close proximity.
    This rescission notice is the result of publication of the final 
rule, ``Revised Medical Criteria for Evaluating Musculoskeletal 
Disorders,'' published on December 3, 2020 at 85 FR 78164. The final 
rule clarified our longstanding policy that the requisite level of 
severity requires the simultaneous presence of all the medical criteria 
in the listing. Specifically, the final rule state in section 1.00C7 
that, when the listing criteria are linked by the word ``and,'' the 
requirements must be present within a ``close proximity of time.'' We 
define ``close proximity of time'' as meaning that all of the relevant 
criteria must appear in the medical record within a consecutive 4 month 
period.
    We incorporated the provisions of former Listing 1.04A, the subject 
of the court's holding in Radford, into the final rule in Listing 1.15. 
Since Listing 1.15 links the symptoms, signs, findings, and impairment-
related physical limitations found in A, B, C, and D of the listing 
with the word ``AND,'' these criteria, must appear in the medical 
record within a consecutive 4-month period. Further, the final rule 
also clarified that the requirement that all the medical criteria in 
the listing be present simultaneously or within a close proximity of 
time applies to other listings that use the word ``and'' to link the 
elements of the required criteria.
    Accordingly, because the regulation that was the subject of the 
Radford AR has been revised, we are rescinding AR 15-1(4) concurrently 
with the effective date of the final rule. The final rule and this 
notice of rescission restore uniformity to our nationwide system of 
rules in accordance with our commitment to the goal of administering 
our programs through uniform national standards.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance, Program Nos. 96.001 Social 
Security--Disability Insurance; 6.002 Social Security--Retirement 
Insurance; 96.004 Social Security--Survivors Insurance; 96.006--
Supplemental Security Income.)

    The Commissioner of the Social Security Administration, Andrew 
Saul, having reviewed and approved this document, is delegating the 
authority to electronically sign this document to Faye I. Lipsky, who 
is the primary Federal Register Liaison for SSA, for

[[Page 79064]]

purposes of publication in the Federal Register.

Faye I. Lipsky,
Federal Register Liaison, Office of Legislation and Congressional 
Affairs, Social Security Administration.
[FR Doc. 2020-26911 Filed 12-7-20; 8:45 am]
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