What specific rule language is proposed for the new CDR category and where can the public comment be read?
Executive summary
The Social Security Administration’s proposed change would insert a new fourth medical-diary category—described in the NPRM as a category between “medical improvement expected” (MIE) and “medical improvement possible” (MIP), commonly called the “Medical Improvement Likely” (MIL) diary—to better align continuing disability reviews (CDRs) with when certain conditions are likely to medically improve [1]. The full proposed regulatory language and the official public-comment docket are published in the Federal Register notice and the linked regulations.gov docket; members of the public can read the proposal and all submitted comments there [1] [2].
1. What the new CDR category is called and why SSA proposes it
The NPRM proposes a new diary category—referred to in the agency’s discussion as the MIL (Medical Improvement Likely) diary—that would sit between the existing MIE and MIP categories so the agency can schedule reviews at points when specific impairments are statistically more likely to show medical improvement; SSA frames the change as a response to analytic findings showing some conditions fell between the current diary intervals and that MI rates were similar across the two adjacent categories, suggesting misalignment [1]. SSA also says the MIL category would let it reassess beneficiaries after they gain access to health care through Medicare or Medicaid to determine whether they continue to meet disability criteria and that earlier detection of MI could shorten beneficiaries’ uncertainty and potentially produce positive employment effects—although SSA acknowledged it could not quantify those employment effects at the time of the proposal [1].
2. The specific regulatory change SSA proposes (summary of rule language in the NPRM)
The proposed regulatory change amends SSA’s rules governing the frequency and assignment criteria for medical diary categories used to schedule CDRs by adding an explicit fourth diary category between MIE and MIP and revising the criteria used to assign conditions to each diary; the NPRM explains the new category’s intended placement and purpose within Subpart D of the proposed rule text, and the Federal Register notice contains the formal regulatory amendments and explanatory preamble [1]. The public-facing summary in the NPRM describes the MIL diary’s role and the analytical rationale (cases falling between MIE and MIP, similar MI rates), but the legally operative text and any precise statutory-regulatory wording are found in the Federal Register publication itself [1].
3. Where the public comment record is and how to read it
The proposed rule and its official docket were published in the Federal Register; the Federal Register notice directs readers to the corresponding docket on regulations.gov where the NPRM, supporting analyses, and all submitted public comments are collected and made available [1] [2]. Standard federal practice—explained in rulemaking guidance—means agencies post comments to the docket (and typically allow 30–60 days for commenting on significant rules), so anyone can read submitted comments and SSA’s eventual responses in the administrative record by visiting the Federal Register entry and clicking through to the regulations.gov docket referenced therein [2] [3] [4].
4. How stakeholders have reacted and why that matters for reading the docket
Stakeholder submissions already contained in the docket illustrate the debate: advocacy and condition-specific groups questioned whether SSA provided sufficient rationale and notice for more frequent reviews and warned of harms from increased CDR frequency and administrative complexity—examples include a detailed comment from a cystic fibrosis advocacy group urging SSA to better explain impacts on beneficiaries and backlogs [5]. Those opposing or concerned commenters typically press SSA to publish clearer assignment criteria and impact analyses; readers should therefore scan both SSA’s preamble and substantive public comments in the Federal Register/regulations.gov docket to understand the full argument set [1] [5].
5. Limits of available reporting and next steps for readers
The sources used summarize SSA’s proposal and reactions but do not reproduce the complete, verbatim regulatory amendments or the docket number in these snippets, so readers seeking the exact statutory/regulatory phrasing should open the Federal Register notice for the SSA NPRM and follow its link to the regulations.gov docket to read the full proposed rule text and all public comments [1] [2] [4]. Agencies generally respond to “significant comments” in the final rule’s response-to-comments section, so the docket will be the definitive place to follow how the MIL diary language changes before any final rule is issued [3].