The Social Security Administration (SSA) made an announcement Monday about including new conditions that may be part of its compassionate allowances, as part of an approach to expediting applications for disability benefits.
In Monday’s statement, the SSA said there will be nine, the new compassionate allowances conditions and two original designations will be reviewed. The ailments that will be included in the new approach are:
- Bainbridge-Roper syndrome
- Costello syndrome
- Adult heart transplant waiting list: status levels 1 to 4
- Children’s heart transplant waiting list: status levels 1A/1B (revised existing condition)
- Histiocytic neoplasms
- Histiocytosis syndromes (revised existing condition)
- Neonatal Marfan syndrome
- PACS1 Syndrome
- Plasmablastic lymphoma
- Renal medullary carcinoma
- Snijders Blok-Campeau syndrome.
Social Security’s Compassionate Allowances List
“The Compassionate Allowances program quickly identifies applications in which the applicant’s illness or medical condition clearly meets the legal Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) standard,” the agency said in a statement.
“Due to the serious nature of many of these conditions, these applications are often accepted based solely on medical confirmation of the diagnosis. To date, more than one million people with severe disabilities have been approved through this accelerated and policy-compliant disability process, which now includes a total of 287 conditions.”
SSA Commissioner Martin O’Malley said the move was intended to help speed up the disability benefits application process.
“I am firmly committed to reducing the amount of time people wait to receive a decision on their disability application, and we are making progress,” O’Malley said in the statement. “Compassionate Allowances assists in this effort by expediting the disability application process for individuals who are likely to be approved for benefits due to the severity of their medical condition.”
Millions Can Apply for SSDI Benefits
According to government data, as of July, 7.2 million U.S. citizens were receiving SSA disability benefits.
The total monthly benefits amounted to $11 million, with an average payment of about $1,500.
The SSA noted that in order to authenticate the validity of disability applications, the agency carefully studied the medical records of the person making the application for the benefits. The agency said it was implementing the use of technological tools to ensure the accuracy of requests.
“The agency incorporates state-of-the-art technology to identify potential disability conditions and make quick decisions,” the SSA said. “Social Security health technology brings the speed and efficiency of electronic medical records to the disability determination process.
“Through the transmission of electronic records, Social Security can quickly obtain a claimant’s medical information, review it and make a determination faster than ever before”
Learn What SSA Compassionate Allowances Are
Compassionate Allowances (CAL) is a way to quickly identify illnesses and other medical conditions that, by definition, meet Social Security requirements to qualify as a disability beneficiary. These diseases mainly include some types of cancer, adult brain disorders and several rare disorders affecting children.
CAL’s initiative helps minimize the waiting time to reach a disability determination for people with more severe disabilities. By implementing the use of the most advanced technology, the agency can easily identify the CAL potential for rapid decision-making.