The Social Security Administration has posted a Notice of Proposed Rule-Making (NPRM) in the Federal Register to revise the hematological Listings. This is only a proposal. The public is allowed to comment on the proposal and Social Security must consider those comments before adopting a final rule.
I have not had time to study the NPRM but I can quickly tell that it follows what has become the usual mode of dramatically increasing the preambles to the Listings. Usually, these long preambles add restrictions and qualifications to the Listings themselves. I am sure that Social Security will say that this is to make the Listings clearer but it seems to me that these long preambles are intended to make it harder for claimants to meet a Listing. It certainly makes the Listings more complex.
the preambles to the listing simply codify numerous agency communications dealing with uncertainty/gray areas in the listing.
ReplyDeleteThere is literally ongoing communication by SSA to DDS agencies and SSA employees about how to interpret the listings. When there are enough such clarifications, they eventually get codified to make the listings more clear.
You're right, it does make it harder for a claimant to meet the requirement of the listing, but the requirements are more explicitly spelled out.