The Social Security Administration has updated its disability program policy instructions to include information about appeals of adverse medical reopenings (AMR) of initial and reconsideration level claims eligible for a disability hearing at the Disability Hearing Unit (DHU).
The updates, made on 09/25/2026, cover three Program Operations Manual System (POMS) sections. An individual has the right to request a disability hearing at the DHU if they have been receiving disability benefits and the agency makes an initial or revised determination based on medical factors that they are not disabled because the impairment or impairments has ceased, did not exist, or is no longer disabling, under 20 CFR ยง 404.914 and 416.1414.
The first level of appeal for an AMR is called a Reconsideration of an Adverse Medical Reopening (RAMR), handled by the DHU. A RAMR for a more adverse onset is handled through the standard disability appeals process. A RAMR at the DHU involves two steps: a pre-hearing review and a disability hearing review by a disability hearing officer.
Disability Policy also clarified that when the Disability Determination Services reverses a prior favorable determination to a later onset, the claimant does not qualify for a DHU hearing. Adverse medical reopenings for a less favorable onset likewise do not qualify for a hearing with a disability hearing officer.
As a result, reopening notices for cases involving fully favorable or partially favorable determinations reopened to a later onset are being revised to reflect the use of form SSA-561 to appeal, removing information about how the appeal works with the DHO. Existing notice paragraphs are also being updated and new paragraphs added for consistency with the Disability Case Processing System.