0960-AH51 201704 Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions 0960 Social Security Administration SSA Revisions to Rules Regarding the Evaluation of Medical Evidence

We are revising our medical evidence rules. The revisions include redefining several key terms related to evidence, revising our rules about acceptable medical sources (AMS), revising how we consider and articulate our consideration of medical opinions and prior administrative medical findings, revising our rules about medical consultants (MC) and psychological consultants (PC), revising our rules about treating sources, and reorganizing our evidence regulations for ease of use. These revisions conform our rules to the requirements of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 (BBA), reflect changes in the national healthcare workforce and in the manner that individuals receive medical care, and emphasize the need for objective medical evidence in disability and blindness claims. We expect that these changes will simplify our rules to make them easier to understand and apply, and allow us to continue to make accurate and consistent disability determinations and decisions.

]]> Other Significant Previously Published in The Unified Agenda Completed Actions No No 20 CFR 404.1502 20 CFR 404.1512 20 CFR 404.1520b 20 CFR 404.1521 to 404.1523 20 CFR 404.1526 and 404.1527 20 CFR 404.1530 20 CFR 404.1546 20 CFR 416.902 20 CFR 416.912 20 CFR 416.920b 20 CFR 416.921 to 416.923 20 CFR 416.926 and 416.927 20 CFR 416.930 20 CFR 416.946 42 U.S.C. 405(a) 42 U.S.C. 423(d)(5)(A) 42 U.S.C. 902(a)(5) 42 U.S.C. 1010(a) 42 U.S.C. 1382c(a)(3)(H)(i) 42 U.S.C. 1382c(a)(3)(H)(i) Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, section 832 Yes NPRM 09/09/2016 81 FR 62559 NPRM Comment Period End 11/08/2016 Final Action 01/18/2017 82 FR 5844 Final Action Effective 03/27/2017 No No None No No www.regulations.gov No No William Gibson P. Social Insurance Specialist, Regulations Writer 0960 Social Security Administration SSA 410 966-9039 william.gibson@ssa.gov Office of Regulations and Reports Clearance, 6401 Security Boulevard, Baltimore MD 21235-6401 Cheryl Williams Office Director 0960 Social Security Administration SSA 410 966-4163 cheryl.a.williams@ssa.gov Office of Disability Policy, 6401 Security Boulevard, Baltimore MD 21235-6401 Joshua Silverman Technical Expert 0960 Social Security Administration SSA 410 594-2128 joshua.silverman@ssa.gov Office of Disability Policy, 6401 Security Boulevard, Baltimore MD 21235-6401