§ 722.117 - Medical criteria—generally.

Section 402(f) of the Act authorizes the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to establish and promulgate standards and medical criteria for determining whether a miner is totally disabled due to pneumoconiosis, whether a miner's death was due to pneumoconiosis, and whether a miner was totally disabled by pneumoconiosis at the time of his death. Section 421(b)(2)(C) of the Act requires that in order for a State to be included on the Secretary's list, such State must promulgate standards for determining death or total disability due to pneumoconiosis which are substantially equivalent to those promulgated by the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare (see 20 CFR part 410, subpart D) and adopted pursuant to sections 415(a) and 422(c) of the Act by the Secretary of Labor in respect of claims filed subsequent to June 30, 1973 (see 20 CFR part 718). Therefore, no State shall be included on the Secretary's list if it does not by statute or published formal rules and regulations provide standards which are substantially equivalent to or less restrictive than those standards published by the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare in subpart D of 20 CFR part 410 as amended on September 30, 1972 (37 FR 20641-20645).