Monday, October 11, 2010

Social Security Disability and Obesity

SSR 02-1p, effective September 12, 2002, provides guidance on SSA policy concerning the evaluation of obesity in Social Security disability claims. This ruling came about as a response to the deletion of listing 9.09 for Obesity, which had once been a part of the Listing of Impairments in 20 CFR, subpart P, appendix 1.

Listing 9.09 first required that a claimant filing a Social Security disability claim exceed a certain weight based on his or her height. Once this requirement was met, the claimant would have had to exhibit one of the five following impairments:

• History of pain and limitation of motion in any weight-bearing joint or spine…
• Hypertension with diastolic blood pressure persistently in excess of 100 mm
• History of congestive heart failure manifested by past evidence of vascular congestion…
• Chronic venous insufficiency with superficial varicosities in a lower extremity with pain on weight-bearing and persistent edema
• Respiratory disease with total forced vital capacity equal to or less than the value specified…

As of October 25, 1999 when the deletion became effective, a person filing for disability benefits could no longer claim obesity as stated above. However, pursuant to SSR 02-1p, obesity must still be considered in the evaluation process. Listing 9.09 was deleted because Social Security felt the listing’s criteria “were not appropriate indicators of listing-level severity.” In other words, the criteria set forth in listing 9.09 “did not represent a degree of functional limitation that would prevent an individual [applying for disability benefits] from engaging in any gainful activity.”

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