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     From Common Dreams : "This policy change is abhorrent and absolutely unjustifiable." "We all know that the cruelty is the point with this administration, but this sinks to yet another low." "This would be a crushing blow to me and my family." Those are just a few of the more than 1,700 official comments members of the U.S. public have left on President Donald Trump's proposed Social Security rule change, which could strip lifesaving disability benefits from hundreds of thousands of people. The proposal received hardly any media attention when it was first published in the Federal Register in November. But recent reporting on the proposed rule change , as well as outrage from progressive Social Security advocates , sparked a flood of public condemnation and calls for the Trump administration to reverse course. Backlash against the proposal can be seen in the public comment section for the rule, where self-identified physicians , people wi...

     From a Notice of Proposed Rule-Making (NPRM) that will appear in tomorrow's Federal Register: ... W e propose to clarify that an AAJ [Administrative Appeals Judge] from our Appeals Council may hold a hearing and issue a decision on any case pending at the hearings level under t itles II, VIII, or XVI of the Act . Just as ALJs [Administrative Law Judges] have the authority to hold hearings on a variety of disability and non - disability claims, we would not limit the kinds of claims that AAJs c ould hear. AAJ s would be required to follow the same rules as ALJs, and the hearings they hold would apply the same due process protections as hearings held by our ALJs . ...      This is only a proposal. The public may comment on the proposal. Social Security must consider the comments. If the agency wishes to go ahead with final regulations, they have to submit them to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for approval. This is a process that or...

     From the Philadelphia Inquirer : The Trump administration is proposing changes to Social Security that could terminate disability payments to hundreds of thousands of Americans, particularly older people and children. The new rule would change aspects of disability reviews � the methods by which the Social Security Administration determines whether a person continues to qualify for benefits. Few recipients are aware of the proposal, which is open for public comment through January. ... The new rule, advocates for low-income Americans say, is just a way to push people off the disability rolls. �I have serious concerns about this proposed rule,� said U.S. Sen. Bob Casey (D., Pa.), adding that it �appears to be yet another attempt by the Trump administration to make it more difficult for people with disabilities to receive benefits.� ...      I don't trust the people behind this proposal at all. I'm sure their motivations are bad. They...

     From a notice from the Social Security Administration that will appear in tomorrow's Federal Register: The S trengthening Protections for Social Security Beneficiaries Act of 2018 ( Strengthening Protections Act ) requires us to promulgate regulations specifying the information Social Security beneficiaries and applicants must provide to designate a representative payee in advance of our determination that the beneficiary needs a representative payee . We propose to revise our rules to satisfy this requirement , and to specify that we will allow individuals to designate in advance one or more potential representative payees . We also explain how we propose to consider an individual�s advance designation when we select a representative payee .

     Social Security will publish proposed regulations on the frequency of continuing disability reviews in the Federal Register on Monday. You can read the proposal today.      They propose to add a new category, Medical Improvement Likely (MIL), to be reviewed every two years. MIL is aimed at a group of impairments which they say fit between the categories of Medical Improvement Expected (MIE) and Medical Improvement Possible (MIP). They say they will include anxiety related disorders in this category. I don't understand that. Anxiety disorders don't respond well to treatment. Panic disorders, the most commonly disabling anxiety disorder, are quite unresponsive to treatment.      They propose to increase the frequency of reviews for the category of Medical Improvement Not Expected (MINE) from seven years to six years.      Overall, they expect to increase Continuing Disability Review (CDRs) by more than 1...