New Additions to Health Conditions List May Mean a Fast Track to Disability Benefits

Qualifying for Social Security Disability benefits is a challenging and long process. But applicants with certain serious life-threatening conditions need quicker decisions.

In attempt to address this situation, the Social Security Administration (SSA) has developed the Compassionate Allowances program for individuals with disabilities who have medical conditions that are so serious that it’s plainly obvious they would qualify for benefits.

Under this program, called “CAL” for short, Social Security fast tracks disability determinations to certain qualified applicants with severe disabilities. All of the conditions on the list are considered to be very serious and difficult to live with, and many are considered terminal.

Applicants who qualify for the Compassionate Allowances program can receive a decision within weeks rather than waiting months

The Social Security Administration (SSA) recently added 13 health conditions to the agency’s Compassionate Allowances list. The newly added conditions are:

• Au-Kline Syndrome
• Bilateral Anophthalmia
• Carey-Fineman-Ziter Syndrome
• Harlequin Ichthyosis – Child
• Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation
• LMNA-related Congenital Muscular Dystrophy
• Progressive Muscular Atrophy
• Pulmonary Amyloidosis – AL Type
• Rasmussen Encephalitis
• Thymic Carcinoma
• Turnpenny-Fry Syndrome
• WHO Grade III Meningiomas
• Zhu-Tokita-Takenouchi-Kim Syndrome

The CAL list now includes 300 conditions, including cancers, early onset Alzheimer’s disease, and ALS. More than one million people with severe disabilities have been approved through this process since the CAL program began in 2008, according to a SSA press release.

If you or someone you care about has a condition which may qualify for Compassionate Allowance consideration, our disability attorneys urge you to apply for Social Security disability benefits right away and make sure that your condition is clearly documented by medical tests and a doctor’s’ statement.

For help in navigating the complex path to winning Social Security Disability benefits, contact the Chicago disability layers at Nash Disability Law for a free evaluation of your unique situation.