Addendum to Medical Listings Digestive Disorders

Addendum to Medical Listings

Digestive Disorders

(OMB No. 0960-0642)

We are revising the criteria in the Listing of Impairments (the listings) that we use to evaluate claims involving digestive disorders at the third step of our sequential evaluation processes for adults and children under title II and title XVI of the Social Security Act (the Act). The revisions reflect our program experiences and advances in medical knowledge, treatment, and methods of evaluating digestive disorders. There are listings for adults (part A) and for children (part B). If an individual is age 18 or over, we apply the listings in part A when we assess the claim, and we never use the listings in part B. If an individual is under age 18, we first use the criteria in part B of the listings. If the listings in part B do not apply, and the specific disease process(es) has a similar effect on adults and children, we then use the criteria in part A. These revisions will remain in effect for 5 years after the date they become effective, unless we extend them, or revise and issue them again.

SSA's regulations provide for sequential evaluation processes for evaluating disability. We apply the listings at step three of the sequential evaluation processes for adults and for children. First, we must determine that the claimant is not engaging in substantial gainful activity, and, second, that he or she has a medically determinable impairment or combination of impairment(s) that is "severe". Then, at step 3 of both processes, we use the listings to determine if the claimant has an impairment(s) that meets or equals in severity the criteria of a listed impairment.

We reviewed the existing listings for digestive disorders and determined that they needed to be revised in light of medical advances in evaluation and treatment. We last published final rules making comprehensive revisions to the digestive disorder listings in the FEDERAL REGISTER on December 6, 1985 (50 FR 50068). The current listings for digestive disorders will no longer be effective on July 2, 2007 (71 FR 26411).

We published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) in the ¹FEDERAL REGISTER on November 14, 2001 (66 FR 57009), proposing changes to the listings for digestive disorders in Part A, 5.00 and Part B, 105.00. We provided a 60-day comment period for this NPRM. We also published a notice in the FEDERAL REGISTER on November 8, 2004, providing a 60-day extension of the comment period on the NPRM for the limited purpose of accepting comments about the proposals regarding chronic liver disease (69 FR 64702). None of the comments received addressed the public reporting burden.

Part A, 5.00 and Part B, 105.00 list the types of evidence SSA needs to make a disability determination; e.g., laboratory test results, clinical findings, and summary of medical reports. SSA and State Disability Determination Services use various forms to collect medical documentation and evidence. These forms/requirements are cleared under individual OMB numbers. While SSA has revised Section 5.00 and 105.00, the information collection requirements/forms have not changed. In addition, we have not increased the annual reporting burden for this collection because the burden is accounted for in the forms information collection requests (ICR). Therefore, we use a 1-hour placeholder for the "Listings" ICR.

1 See Page 57017 of the FR for the PRA Notice.

2

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