Rules on determining hearing appearances. Final rule

This final rule is another step in our continual efforts to handle workloads more effectively and efficiently. We are publishing final rules for portions of the rules we proposed in October 2007 that relate to persons, other than the claimant or any other party to the hearing, appearing by telephone. We are also clarifying that the administrative law judge (ALJ) will allow the claimant or any other party to a hearing to appear by telephone under certain circumstances when the claimant or other party requests to make his or her appearance in that manner. We expect that these final rules will make the hearings process more efficient and help us continue to reduce the hearings backlog. In addition, we made some minor editorial changes to our regulations that do not have any effect on the rights of claimants or any other parties.

Tentative eligibility determinations; presumptive eligibility for psychosis and other mental illness. Final rule

This document amends the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) regulation authorizing tentative eligibility determinations to comply with amended statutory authority concerning minimum active-duty service requirements. This document also codifies in regulation statutory presumptions of medical care eligibility for veterans of certain wars and conflicts who developed psychosis within specified time periods and for Persian Gulf War veterans who developed a mental illness other than psychosis within 2 years after service and within 2 years after the end of the Persian Gulf War period.

Revised medical criteria for evaluating congenital disorders that affect multiple body systems. Final rule

We are revising the criteria in the Listing of Impairments (listings) that we use to evaluate cases involving impairments that affect multiple body systems in adults and children under titles II and XVI of the Social Security Act (Act). The revisions reflect our program experience and address adjudicator questions we have received since we last comprehensively revised this body system in 2005. We do not expect any decisional differences due to the revisions in this body system.

Subsequent program participation of former social security disability insurance beneficiaries and supplemental security income recipients whose eligibility ceased because of medical improvement

The Social Security Administration (SSA) periodically reviews the disabilities of Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients and Social Security Disability Insurance (DI) beneficiaries to determine if their impairments still meet the requirements for program eligibility. For individuals whose eligibility was ceased after a full medical review from 2003 to 2008, we track subsequent program participation for up to 8 years. We use survival analyses to estimate the time untilfirst return to SSI and DI and explore the differences in returns by various personal and programmatic characteristics such as age, disability type, time on program, and SSA expectations regarding medical improvement. Overall, we estimate that about 30 percent ofSSI-only recipients whose eligibility ceases because of medical improvement return to the SSI program within 8 years. For DI-only worker beneficiaries whose eligibility ceases, we estimate that 20 percent will return to the DI program within 8 years.

Extension of statutory period for compensation for certain disabilities due to undiagnosed illnesses and medically unexplained chronic multi-symptom illnesses. Final rule

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is issuing this final rule to affirm an amendment to its adjudication regulation regarding compensation for disabilities experienced by veterans who served in the Southwest Asia Theater of Operations during the Persian Gulf War. This amendment is necessary to extend the period during which disabilities associated with undiagnosed illnesses and medically unexplained chronic multi-symptom illnesses must become manifest in order for a veteran to be eligible for compensation. Additionally, in this final rule, VA will correct the adjudication section title that was amended and published in the Federal Register on September 29, 2010, but inadvertently changed to the original title.

Expedited vocational assessment under the sequential evaluation process. Final rules

We are revising our rules to give adjudicators the discretion to proceed to the fifth step of the sequential evaluation process for assessing disability when we have insufficient information about a claimant's past relevant work history to make the findings required for step 4. If an adjudicator finds at step 5 that a claimant may be unable to adjust to other work existing in the national economy, the adjudicator will return to the fourth step to develop the claimant's work history and make a finding about whether the claimant can perform his or her past relevant work. We expect that this new expedited process will not disadvantage any claimant or change the ultimate conclusion about whether a claimant is disabled, but it will promote administrative efficiency and help us make more timely disability determinations and decisions.

Extension of expiration dates for several body systems listings. Final rule

We are extending the expiration dates of the following body systems in the Listing of Impairments (listings) in our regulations: Growth Impairment, Musculoskeletal System, Respiratory System, Cardiovascular System, Digestive System, Hematological Disorders, Skin Disorders, Neurological, and Mental Disorders. We are making no other revisions to these body system listings in this final rule. This extension will ensure that we continue to have the criteria we need to evaluate impairments in the affected body systems at step three of the sequential evaluation processes for initial claims and continuing disability reviews.

[Predicting long-term disability after one year for claimants with psychological disorders applying for vocational disability]

There is a growing amount of research on predicting the outcome of illnesses, return to work and early retirement. Up to now, these general findings have not been examined for claimants of vocational disability in the context of a private life insurance in Germany ("Private Berufsunfähigkeit" = BU). In this prospective study we tested general outcome variables for psychosomatic illnesses, when applying for a disability pension, to predict vocational disability after one year as defined by private life insurance (BU) in Germany. The results are consistent with the research generated in similar insurance fields, highlighting the relevance of the variables: Age, subjective appraisal of the vocational and health perspective in the following year, the amount of attempts to prevent disability (number of inpatient treatments) and motivational aspects like the extent of commitment. These variables were then used to compose a first screening questionnaire to predict vocational disability at an early stage of the claims process.