Social Security Disability Insurance provides certain benefits to individuals who are suffering from illnesses or injuries that don’t allow them to work to support themselves. The process of obtaining these benefits isn’t quick, but there are conditions that may mean that the applicant doesn’t have time to wait for the normal application process.
The Social Security Administration has a program that sets specific standards for these cases. The Compassionate Allowances program makes it possible for people who have conditions that are unusually severe or going to end in death to be fast-tracked through the process.
How does the Compassionate Allowances program work?
The Compassionate Allowances program is based on a set of predetermined conditions that meet very specific criteria. The list is updated frequently, but it currently contains 300 conditions that qualify for expedited benefits.
Some of the newest additions to the list include:
- Au-Kline syndrome
- Bilateral anophthalmia
- Carey-Fineman-Ziter syndrome
- Childhood Harlequin Ichthyosis
- Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation
- LMNA-related congenital muscular dystrophy
- Progressive muscle atrophy
- Pulmonary amyloidosis – AL type
- Rasmussen encephalitis
- Thymic carcinoma
- Turnpenny Fry syndrome
- WHO grade III meningiomas
- Zhu-Tokita-Takenouchi-Kim syndrome
Because this program is based on specific conditions, anyone who’s applying for benefits should ensure they include the proper name of the condition on the application. This enables the system to pick up the condition and flag the application for expedited review.
Anyone who has a condition on the list and wants to apply for benefits should ensure the application is as comprehensive as possible. It may be beneficial to work with someone familiar with disability applications, particularly the Compassionate Allowances program.