Revised Medical Criteria for Determination of Disability, Endocrine System and Related Criteria

SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION

20 CFR Part 404

[Regulations No. 4]

RIN 0960-AE65

Revised Medical Criteria for Determination of Disability,

Endocrine System and Related Criteria

AGENCY: Social Security Administration.

[[Page 31681]]

ACTION: Proposed rule; extension of comment period.

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SUMMARY: On March 11, 1998, the Social Security Administration (SSA)

published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) in the Federal

Register (63 FR 11854), that would delete the ``Obesity'' listing from

the Listing of Impairments SSA uses to adjudicate claims for disability

involving obesity under titles II and XVI of the Social Security Act

(the Act) when we evaluate claims of individuals at step 3 of our

sequential evaluation process. A 60-day period within which to comment

on the NPRM was provided. To allow the public additional time to send

us comments, we are extending the comment period.

DATES: To be sure that your comments are considered, we must receive

them no later than July 13, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be submitted in writing to the Commissioner

of Social Security, P.O. Box 1585, Baltimore, MD 21235, sent by telefax

to (410) 966-2830, sent by E-mail to ``[email protected]'', or

delivered to the Office of Process and Innovation Management, Social

Security Administration, L2109 West Low Rise Building, 6401 Security

Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21235, between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. on

regular business days. Comments may be inspected during these same

hours by making arrangements with the contact person shown below.

The electronic file of this document is available on the Federal

Bulletin Board (FBB) at 9:00 a.m. on the date of publication in the

Federal Register. To download the file, modem dial (202) 512-1387. The

FBB instructions will explain how to download the file and the fee.

This file is in WordPerfect and will remain on the FBB during the

comment period.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert J. Augustine, Legal Assistant,

Office of Process and Innovation Management, Social Security

Administration, L2109 West Low Rise Building, 6401 Security Boulevard,

Baltimore, MD 21235, (410) 966-5121 for information about these rules.

For information on eligibility or claiming benefits, call our national

toll-free number, 1-800-772-1213.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On March 11, 1998 (63 FR 11854), we

published ``Revised Medical Criteria for Determination of Disability,

Endocrine System and Related Criteria'' as an NPRM. This NPRM would

delete the ``Obesity'' listing from the Listing of Impairments we use

to adjudicate claims for disability involving obesity under titles II

and XVI of the Act when we evaluate claims of individuals at step 3 of

our sequential evaluation process. We provided a comment period ending

May 11, 1998. We have received a number of requests to extend the

comment period. This factor, and the significance of the proposed rule,

make it appropriate to extend the comment period through July 13, 1998.

Dated: June 3, 1998.

Kenneth S. Apfel,

Commissioner of Social Security.

[FR Doc. 98-15486 Filed 6-9-98; 8:45 am]

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