Final Regs on Prehearing Decisions Issued

December 18, 2011

Author: Catherine M. Callery (Kate)| Louise M. Tarantino

In the September 2010 edition of the Disability Law News, we reported on proposed regulations governing further review of prehearing decisions - including partially favorable decisions made based on prehearing case reviews or fully favorable attorney advisor decisions.  The regulations have been finalized and were published in the Federal Register on October 21, 2011, with an effective date of November 21, 2011.  http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2011-10-21/pdf/2011-27236.pdf.

In short, the new regulations revise the procedures for how claimants who request hearings before administrative law judges (ALJs) may seek further review of their fully favorable revised determinations based on prehearing case reviews or fully favorable attorney advisor decisions.  SSA will notify claimants who receive partially favorable determinations based on prehearing case reviews that an ALJ will still hold a hearing unless all parties to the hearing notify SSA in writing that the hearing requests should be dismissed.

SSA received only one comment about the proposed regulations, which was the comment letter from DAP Coordinator Ann Biddle, former DAP Coordinator Kevin Cremin and Chris Bowes of CeDar.  They had offered suggestions on how to make the regulations more readable, many of which SSA adapted.  Their comment letter is available as DAP # 532.

In light of the publication of these final regulations, SSA has rescinded Social Security Ruling (SSR) 97-2p.  SSR 97-2p dealt with prehearing reviews.  SSA announced that since the new regulations cover most of the issues addressed in SSR 97-2p, it no longer needs the limited additional information in the SSR.  It has been rescinded as obsolete. 
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2011-10-21/pdf/2011-27234.pdf.