The CDR workload consists of cases that have MINE diaries, which are sometimes referred
to as “permanent impairment” cases. In these cases, the medical impairment is extremely
severe, as determined by existing medical technology and our experience in administering
the disability programs. These impairments do not improve over time, and are more
likely to be progressive either by themselves or due to related complications. The
likelihood of medical improvement to permit the individual to engage in substantial
gainful activity (SGA) is extremely remote.
Public Law (P.L.) 96-265 amends the Social Security Act, and requires, in part, that the Secretary (now Commissioner)
involves case review schedules for permanent impairments. The review schedule for
MINE cases is no more often than every 5 years and no less often than every 7 years.
The primary purpose of the MINE review procedure is to minimize inconvenience to the
disabled individual. The Social Security Administration (SSA) structures the review
in a manner that is sensitive to the disabled individual’s concerns and needs. Since
we consider these impairments permanent, we focus our development toward assuring
that the original medical documentation was thorough and fully supports the MINE impairment
classification. Therefore, we do not anticipate the need for extensive current medical
development.
The impairments that SSA considers permanent and that warrant a MINE medical reexamination
diary may change over time due to advances in new diagnostic procedures and new treatments.
Due to our experience with prior CDRs, SSA’s policy responds to these advances. We
have not realized the anticipated medical improvement in some cases. The result, in
part, is that cases previously assigned medical improvement expected (MIE) or medical
improvement possible (MIP) medical reexamination diaries may, in some instances, be
considered "MINE-equivalent" cases for purposes of FO and disability determination
services (DDS) CDR processing. For a complete discussion of medical reexamination
diaries, review the following:
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DI 13005.005 Field Office (FO) Procedures for Deciding Continuance of Disability and Medical Improvement
Diaries, and
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For a complete discussion of DDS MINE CDR process, see DI 28040.000.
For electronic case procedures, see DI 81010.000.