Social Security Adds New Conditions to its Compassionate Allowances List for Disability Benefits

Under the guidelines of the Compassionate Allowances Program, the Social Security Administration (SSA) offers fast-track processing of disability benefits claims for people with certain severe medical conditions.

Qualifying for Social Security Disability benefits is a challenging and lengthy process, but applicants with serious life-threatening conditions need quicker decisions.

To address this situation, the Social Security Administration developed the Compassionate Allowances program for workers 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.

Applicants who qualify for the Compassionate Allowances Program can receive a decision within weeks rather than waiting months or years.

Not all conditions qualify for CAL, even if they are severe and prevent a person from working. This program only applies to a specific list of impairments.

For example, a person can qualify for a Compassionate Allowance if they can document they have inoperable cancer which cannot be completely removed, or has spread to other parts of their body.

Other conditions which may be eligible for Compassionate Allowance consideration include ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease), some types of muscular dystrophy and muscular atrophy, early-onset Alzheimer’s disease, certain adult brain disorders, and several rare disorders that affect children.

Recently, Social Security added nine new Compassionate Allowances (CAL) conditions and revisions to two existing CAL conditions:

• Bainbridge-Ropers Syndrome
• Costello Syndrome
• Adult Heart Transplant Wait List—Status Levels 1-4
• Child Heart Transplant Wait List—Status Levels 1A/1B (revised existing condition)
• Histiocytic Malignancies
• Histiocytosis Syndromes (revised existing condition)
• Neonatal Marfan Syndrome
• PACS1 Syndrome
• Plasmablastic Lymphoma
• Renal Medullary Carcinoma
• Snijders Blok-Campeau Syndrome

In announcing the CAL additions, Social Security Commissioner Martin O’Malley said, “I am steadfastly committed to reducing the amount of time people wait to receive a decision on their disability claim, and we are making progress. Compassionate Allowances helps in this effort by accelerating the disability application process for people who are likely to get approved for benefits due to the severity of their medical condition.”

With these additions to Social Security’s list of diseases that qualify for Compassionate Allowance status, there are a total of 287 conditions that qualify. See the complete list of Compassionate Allowance conditions here

Usually, CAL applicants do not have to wait long for their payments to start, but this depends on the claim type and the onset date of the disability. If you have a condition that falls under the Compassionate Allowance umbrella, the requirements for medical data to back up your claim are also less rigorous than for other disability claims, but proof of your condition is critical.

While Compassionate Allowances can mean a faster disability determination, Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) beneficiaries still must wait five months after their disability onset date to begin receiving benefits and 24 months after their onset date before Medicare benefits kick in. The exception is for those with ALS.

If you believe you have a condition or conditions that qualifies for benefits, whether or not it is a CAL, call or email the Chicago disability attorneys at Nash Disability Law without delay.

Our disability lawyer team can give you a free evaluation of your situation. Together we can discuss whether your claim qualifies under Social Security’s Compassionate Allowance regulations, or otherwise may qualify under different rules.