(a) State plan requirements. A State plan under title XIV or XVI of the Social Security Act must:
(1) Contain a definition of permanently and totally disabled, showing that:
(i) “Permanently” is related to the duration of the impairment or combination of impairments; and
(ii) “Totally” is related to the degree of disability.
The following definition is recommended:
“Permanently and totally disabled” means that the individual has some permanent physical or mental impairment, disease, or loss, or combination thereof, this substantially precludes him from engaging in useful occupations within his competence, such as holding a job.
Under this definition:
“Permanently” refers to a condition which is not likely to improve or which will continue throughout the lifetime of the individual; it may be a condition which is not likely to respond to any known therapeutic procedures, or a condition which is likely to remain static or to become worse unless certain therapeutic measures are carried out, where treatment is unavailable, inadvisable, or is refused by the individual on a reasonable basis; “permanently” does not rule out the possibility of vocational rehabilitation or even possible recovery in light of future medical advances or changed prognosis; in this sense the term refers to a condition which continues indefinitely, as distinct from one which is temporary or transient;
“Totally” involves considerations in addition to those verified through the medical findings, such as age, training, skills, and work experience, and the probable functioning of the individual in his particular situation in light of his impairment; an individual's disability would usually be tested in relation to ability to engage in remunerative employment; the ability to keep house or to care for others would be the appropriate test for (and only for) individuals, such as housewives, who were engaged in this occupation prior to the disability and do not have a history of gainful employment; eligibility may continue, even after a period of rehabilitation and readjustment, if the individual's work capacity is still very considerably limited (in comparison with that of a normal person) in terms of such factors as the speed with which he can work, the amount he can produce in a given period of time, and the number of hours he is able to work.
(2) Provide for the review of each medical report and social history by technically competent persons—not less than a physician and a social worker qualified by professional training and pertinent experience—acting cooperatively, who are responsible for the agency's decision that the applicant does or does not meet the State's definition of permanent and total disability. Under this requirement:
(i) The medical report must include a substantiated diagnosis, based either on existing medical evidence or upon current medical examination;
(ii) The social history must contain sufficient information to make it possible to relate the medical findings to the activities of the “useful occupation” and to determine whether the individual is totally disabled, and
(iii) The review physician is responsible for setting dates for reexamination; the review team is responsible for reviewing reexamination reports in conjunction with the social data to determine whether disabled recipients whose health condition may improve continue to meet the State's definition of permanent and total disability.
(3) Provide for cooperative arrangements with related programs, such as vocational rehabilitation services.
(b) Federal financial participation—
(1) Assistance payments. Federal financial participation is available in payments to or in behalf of any otherwise eligible individual who is permanently and totally disabled. Permanent and total disability may be considered as continuing until the review team establishes the fact that the recipient's disability is no longer within the State's definition of permanent and total disability.
(2) Administrative expenses. Federal financial participation is available in any expenditures incident to the medical examinations necessary to determine whether an individual is permanently and totally disabled.
[36 FR 3867, Feb. 27, 1971]
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