*1212 ORDER
Appellant’s motion to publish the order and judgment filed on March 22, 2001, is granted. A copy of the published opinion is attached.
Plaintiff Marlene Drapeau appeals from an order of the district court affirming the decision of the Commissioner of Social Security to deny her application for supplemental security income benefits. We exercise jurisdiction under 42 U.S.C. § 405(g) and 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and reverse. 1
Plaintiff was born in 1953 and contracted polio when she was six months old from the vaccine. She has worked as a bus aide, a packager, a clerk typist and a maid. She applied for benefits in January 1994, alleging disability due to post-polio syndrome. This condition is characterized by “muscle fatigue and decreased endurance, often accompanied by weakness, fascicula-tions, and atrophy in selective muscles.” The Merck Manual 2342 (17th ed.1999). The syndrome occurs many years after an attack of paralytic poliomyelitis, affecting especially older patients and those initially more severely affected. Id. Plaintiff has also been diagnosed with dysphagia, a condition that makes swallowing difficult. Appellant’s App. at 230, 314. She has been diagnosed with significant depressive symptoms, for which she has been receiving treatment and medication. Finally, plaintiff has a long history of alcohol abuse.
Following a hearing before an administrative law judge (ALJ), the ALJ denied benefits for plaintiff in November 1994, concluding that she was not disabled at step four of the analysis because she could still perform her past work.
See Williams v. Bowen,
On appeal, plaintiff claims that the ALJ erred at step three of the analysis, in finding that she does not have a Listed Impairment, in failing to give proper weight to the opinions of her treating physicians that she was unable to work, and in incorrectly determining that alcohol abuse was a material factor contributing to her disability. If we disagree with her step three argument, plaintiff also contends the ALJ erred in evaluating her disability at step four.
I. Step Three Listed Impairment Determination.
“At step three, the ALJ determines whether the claimant’s impairment is equivalent to one of a number of listed impairments that the [Commissioner] acknowledges as so severe as to preclude substantial gainful activity.”
Clifton v. Chater,
For plaintiff to qualify under Listing 11.11, she must have anterior poliomyelitis and meet one of the following three conditions: she must exhibit (1) persistent diffi *1213 culty with swallowing or breathing, (2) unintelligible speech, or (3) disorganization of motor function. 'Id. Plaintiffs treating physician, Dr. Brandt, stated his opinion that plaintiff met the listing for anterior poliomyelitis because of her diagnosis of post-poliomyelitis coupled with dysphagia, which causes her difficulty in swallowing. Appellant’s App. at 315. If plaintiffs impairments meet Listing 11.11, she has satisfied her burden of proving her disability without regard to her age, education, or work experience. 20 C.F.R. § 416.920(d).
The ALJ found that “claimant’s condition does not meet or equal any listing.” Appellant’s App. at 36. The only reason given by the ALJ for this finding was that he concurred with Dr. Pearson, a consultative physician, who testified that plaintiff did not meet the criteria of any listing. The ALJ did not provide any analysis of why plaintiff did not meet Listing 11.11, did not mention or discuss Dr. Brandt’s report, did not provide any explanation for why he disregarded the opinion of a treating physician, and did not provide any reason for giving greater weight to the opinion of a consulting physician .than to a treating physician.
Thus, the ALJ made several legal errors with respect to this evidence, at step three. First, in contravention of
Clifton,
Second, the ALJ completely disregarded Dr. Brandt’s opinion that plaintiffs impairments meet Listing 11.11. An ALJ is required to give controlling weight to a treating physician’s well-supported opinion, so long as it is not inconsistent with other substantial evidence in the record. 20 C.F.R. § 416.927(d)(2);
see also Bean v. Chater,
(l).the length of the treatment relationship and the frequency of examination; (2) the nature and extent of the treatment relationship, including the treatment provided and the kind of examination or testing performed; (3) the degree to which the physician’s opinion is supported by relevant evidence; (4) .consistency between the opinion and the record as a whole; (5) whether or not the physician is a specialist in the area upon which an opinion is rendered; and (6) other factors brought to the ALJ’s attention which tend to support or contradict the opinion.
Goatcher v. United States Dep’t of Health & Human Servs.,
The government argues that Dr. Brandt’s opinion is contradicted by the testimony of Drs. Pearson, Morrison and Smoot, nontreating physicians who opined
*1214
that plaintiffs impairments did not meet any listing. None of these physicians reviewed Dr. Brandt’s report stating that plaintiff met the listing, nor did any of them give any supporting explanation whatsoever for their conclusions. Thus, the government’s argument is fallacious for two reasons. First, when, as here, an ALJ does not provide any explanation for rejecting medical evidence, we cannot meaningfully review the ALJ’s determination.
See, e.g., Clifton,
Second, as we stated many years ago in
Frey,
the “findings of a nontreating physician based upon limited contact and examination are of suspect reliability.”
We therefore conclude that the ALJ’s conclusion that plaintiffs impairments did not meet any listed impairment did not follow correct legal standards and is not supported by substantial evidence.
II. Evaluation of Plaintiffs Alcoholism.
As an additional basis for denying benefits, the ALJ found that plaintiffs alcohol abuse “is a material factor in determining whether [she] is disabled.” Appellant’s App. at 36. At the time of plaintiffs administrative hearing, drug and alcohol addiction could support a finding of disability, and plaintiff, who is an alcoholic, presented her case accordingly. Following her hearing, however, Congress amended the Social Security Act to provide that “[a]n individual shall not be considered to be disabled for purposes of this subchapter if alcoholism or drug addiction would (but for this sub-paragraph) be a contributing factor material to the Commissioner’s determination that the individual is disabled.” 42 U.S.C. § 423(d)(2)(C). Under the regulations, the key factor the Commissioner must examine in determining whether drugs or alcohol are a contributing factor to the claim is whether the Commissioner would still find the claimant disabled if he or she stopped using drugs or alcohol. 20 C.F.R. § 416.935(b)(1). Under this regulation, the ALJ must evaluate which of plaintiffs current physical and mental limitations would remain if plaintiff stopped using alcohol, and then determine whether any or all of plaintiffs remaining limitations would be disabling.
The ALJ’s analysis of plaintiffs alcohol abuse was flawed in several respects. First, the ALJ failed to determine whether plaintiff was disabled prior to finding that alcoholism was a contributing factor material thereto. The implementing regulations make clear that a finding of disability is a condition precedent to an application of § 423(d)(2)(C). 20 C.F.R. § 416.935(a). The Commissioner must first make a determination that the claimant is disabled. Id. He must then make a determination whether the claimant would still be found disabled if he or she stopped abusing alcohol. Id. § 416.935(b)(1). If so, then the *1215 alcohol abuse is not a contributing factor material to the finding of disability. Id. § 416.935(b)(2)(ii). If, however, the claimant’s remaining impairments would not be disabling without the alcohol abuse, then the alcohol abuse is a contributing factor material to the finding of disability. Id. § 416.935(b)(2)(i). The ALJ cannot begin to apply § 423(d)(2)(C) properly when, as here, he has not yet made a finding of disability.
Second, the ALJ only indicated that plaintiffs alcohol abuse contributed to her mental condition of depression. The ALJ failed to address whether plaintiffs alcohol abuse was a “contributing factor” to either her post-poliomyelitis or her dysphagia. Moreover, none of the physicians who examined or evaluated plaintiff addressed whether her alcohol abuse was a contributing factor in any of her claimed disabilities. Thus, there is no evidence in the record to support the ALJ’s finding that plaintiffs alcohol abuse was a “material factor” in her disabilities. Accordingly, in evaluating plaintiffs alcohol abuse under § 423(d)(2)(C), the ALJ failed to follow the applicable legal standards and his conclusion was not supported by substantial evidence. Whether plaintiff is disabled and what role her alcoholism plays in any disability are questions the Commissioner must address on remand.
Because additional proceedings will now ensue at step three, it is unnecessary to reach plaintiffs alleged errors at step four. We note, however, that for the ALJ to conclude validly that plaintiff can return to her past relevant work, the ALJ is required to make specific findings concerning: (1) plaintiffs residual functional capacity (RFC), (2) the functional demands of each of plaintiffs past jobs, and (3) plaintiffs ability to return to these past jobs with the RFC the ALJ determines the claimant to have.
Winfrey v. Chafer,
The district court’s judgment is REVERSED, and the case is REMANDED for further proceedings.
Notes
. After examining Ihe briefs and appellate record, this panel has determined unanimously to grant the parties' request for a decision on the briefs without oral argument. See Fed.R.App.P. 34(f); 10th Cir. R. 34.1(G). The case is therefore ordered submitted without oral argument.