Spring 2011 CFSAC Meeting—Day 2 (May 11) highlights federal programs available to patients

The Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Advisory Committee (CFSAC), which is an official advisory committee within the federal Department of Health and Human Services, held its spring two-day conference on May 10 -11, 2011. Dr. Christopher Snell served as Chair and Dr. Wanda Jones as Designated Federal Officer. Day 2 covered a lot of material including a review of the 5-step process used by the Social Security Administration to determine a claimant's eligibility for disability; a report on ERISA provisions by a member of the U.S. Department of Labor; and then a wrap-up by the CFSAC in its review and recommendations.

Due to sheer volume of material, this article will concentrate on the federal programs that were reviewed and list sources for useful information on the same. We will soon post a final article in this series on the meeting which will review the CFSAC committee discussions and recommendations.