Mary E. SPROW, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Otis R. BOWEN, M.D., Secretary of Health and Human Services, Defendant-Appellee

In this review of a denial of Social Security benefits, the issue we must decide is whether the applicant met the requirements to be considered a fully insured individual pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §§ 423 (c)(1) and 414(a). Sprow argues that certain years in which she was medically disabled should be excluded from the number of years for which she was required to establish quarters of coverage, thus reducing the number of quarters she needed to obtain fully insured status. She relies upon the provisions of 20 C.F.R. § 404.320 (a) relating to when a period of disability may be excluded from consideration in computing benefits. Appellant’s interpretation of that descriptive regulation conflicts with the statutory language of 42 U.S.C. § 416 (i)(2)(C), which states that a person can qualify for such a period of disability only if that person is a fully insured individual on the day the period of disability begins. We therefore affirm.

Claimant Sprow, after applying for Social Security disability benefits several times after 1978 and being denied each time, filed an application on September 13, 1985 for Title II disability benefits and Title XVI supplemental benefits. This application was…