Almost everyone has heard the horror stories involving Social Security Disability applications that have taken years to make their way through the approval process. For those individuals who have severe disabilities and are in immediate need of Social Security disability benefits, these tales can invoke feelings of helplessness, frustration and despair. If it is immediately evident that someone is in need of Social Security Disability benefits, shouldn't their Social Security Disability applications be processed more quickly? Fortunately the people in charge of Social Security Disability applications have implemented changes that make that possible. If you are facing severe disability, there is hope that your Social Security Disability application will be rushed through with Social Security's Compassionate Allowance program.
What is the Disability Compassionate Allowance Program?
The Compassionate Allowance program enables certain individuals to receive an approval for Social Security Disability benefits more quickly. It is important to remember, however, that not everyone will qualify for this program. The Compassionate Allowance program is reserved for applicants who have disabilities that are so severe that the need for assistance is unquestionable and cannot be denied.
What Conditions Qualify For Social Security Disability Compassionate Allowances?
There are a total of eighty-eight conditions that qualify for the Social Security Disability Compassionate Allowance program. These conditions include:
- Acute leukemia
- Certain types of adrenal cancer
- Neonatal and infantile Alexander Disease
- Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
- Certain stages of anaplastic adrenal cancer
- Grade III and IV astrocytoma
- Certain stages of bladder cancer
- Certain stages of bone cancer
- Certain stages of breast cancer
- Canavan Disease
- Cerebro Oculo Facio Skeletal Syndrome
- The blast phase of chronic myelogenous leukemia
- Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease
- Ependymoblastoma
- Esophageal cancer
- Farber's Disease
- Friedreichs Ataxia
- Frontotemporal dementia
- Gallbladder cancer
- Type 2 Gaucher Disease
- Glioblastoma multiforme
- Certain head and neck cancers
- Infantile neuroaxonal dystrophy
- Inflammatory breast cancer
- Inoperable kidney cancer
- Krabbe Disease
- Large intestine cancer that is inoperable, unresectable or recurrent
- Lesch-Nyhan Syndrome
- Liver cancer
- Mantle cell lymphoma
- Metachromatic leukodystrophy
- Type A Niemann-Pick Disease
- Certain stages of non-small cell lung cancer
- Ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency
- Type II osteogenesis imperfecta
- Certain stages of ovarian cancer
- Pancreatic cancer
- Peritoneal mesothelioma
- Pleural mesothelioma
- Pompe Disease
- Rett Syndrome
- Salivary tumors
- Sandhoff Disease
- Small cell cancer of the large intestine, ovaries, prostate or uterus
- Small cell lung cancer
- Certain stages of small intestine cancer
- Type 0 and 1 spinal muscular atrophy
- Certain stages of stomach cancer
- Thyroid cancer
- Certain stages of ureter cancer
- Alstrom Syndrome
- Amegakaryocytic thrombocytopenia
- Ataxia spinocerebellar
- Ataxia telangiectasia
- Batten Disease
- Bilateral retinoblastoma
- Cri du Chat Syndrome
- Degos Disease
- Early-onset Alzheimer’s Disease
- Edwards Syndrome
- Fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva
- Fukuyama congenital muscular dystrophy
- Type II glutaric acidemia
- Familial type hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis
- Type IH Hurler Syndrome
- Type II Hunter Syndrome
- Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis
- Lethal forms of junctional epidermolysis bullosa
- Late infantile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinoses
- Leigh’s Disease
- Maple syrup urine disease
- Merosin deficient congenital muscular dystrophy
- Mixed dementia
- Mucosal malignant melanoma
- Neonatal adrenoleukodystrophy
- Infantile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinoses
- Type C Niemann-Pick
- Patau Syndrome
- Primary progressive aphasia
- Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy
- Sanfilippo Syndrome
- Subacute sclerosis panencephalitis
- Tay Sachs Disease
- Type 1 thanatophoric dysplasia
- Ullrich congenital muscular dystrophy
- Walker Warburg Syndrome
- Wolman Disease
- Zellweger Syndrome
How Fast Can a Social Security Disability Application Be Approved?
If your disability is due to one of the above conditions, it is very important that you let the adjudicator know this fact when you are applying for disability benefits. Not all adjudicators are familiar with the Compassionate Allowance list, or the conditions on it. Because of this you will want to let the person taking your Social Security Disability application know as soon as possible that you qualify for this process.
When applying for Social Security Disability under the Compassionate Allowance program, make sure that your application is as complete as possible and bring all necessary paperwork with you to your appointment, including medical records and lab reports. Since Compassionate Allowance applications are usually open and shut cases, an application that is filled out completely and properly can receive an approval in as little as 20 days.
While 20 days may seem like a long time to wait for Social Security Disability benefits, especially when financial maters are pressing, it is actually a significant improvement over traditional Social Security Disability processing times. Some applicants wait months and even years for Social Security Disability approval. A 20-day wait period is a significant improvement when compared to the history of Social Security Disability claims.
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