SSR 96-6p: Consideration of Administrative Findings of Fact by State Agency Medical and Psychological Consultants and Other Program Physicians and Psychologists at the Administrative Law Judge and Appeals Council Levels of Administrative Review; Medical Equivalence

• Author: David Traver
• Pages: 241-264

9-1

Chapter Nine

SSR 96-6p

Consideration of Administrative Findings

of Fact by State Agency Medical and

Psychological Consultants and Other

Program Physicians and Psychologists

at the Administrative Law Judge and

Appeals Council Levels of

Administrative Review; Medical

Equivalence

§900 Introduction

§900.0.1 Experts By Fiat? Hardly

§900.0.2 Practice Tip: Sample Argument

§900.1 Opinions by Non-Treating Sources

§900.1.1 Practice Tip: State Agency Reports as Noncompetent Bases for Evaluation

§900.2 Where Are These Non-Treating Medical Opinions?

§900.2.1 Practice Tip: Did the ALJ Actually Rely on the State Agency Opinions?

§901 The Role of State Agency Program Physicians and Psychologists in “Equivalence”

Determinations

§901.1 Mandated Standards for Obtaining Medical Expert Opinion

§901.2 Case on Point: Consulting Agency Doctors for Medical Equivalence

§901.3 Once Obtained, Medical Expert Opinions Are Not Binding

§901.4 Practice Tip

§902 Using the Medical Expert Called by the Agency to Establish Equivalence

§902.1 Establishing Medical Equivalence

Social Security Disability Advocate’s Handbook 9-240

§902.2 Symptoms, Signs and Laboratory Findings

§903 The Tough Standard for Weighing Medical Opinions of Non-Treating Agency Program

Physicians and Psychologists

§903.0.1 Case on Point: Specializations and the Quality of State Agency Review in a

Fibromyalgia Claim

§903.1 These Standards May Not Be Inferred From the Decision

§903.2 Ignored State Agency Opinions and the Problem of Harmless Error

§903.3 Implied Compliance With SSR 96-6p

§903.4 Electronic Signatures on Consultative Reports

§904 Using a Treating Source Opinion to Prove Equivalence

§905 Practice Tip: Use SSR 96-6p to Show the ALJ Improperly Allocated Weight

§906 Nonexamining Source Opinions May Be Given Greater Weight Than Treating Source

Opinions

§907 Requesting Subpoenas of State Agency Physicians and Psychologists

§907.1 Why Not to Subpoena State Agency Doctors

§907.2 Practice Tip

§907.3 Elements of a Request for Subpoena