Social Security Compassionate Allowances

The Social Security Administration (SSA) requires individuals seeking Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Social Security Income (SSI) to have a confirmed disability before they can receive benefits. Typically, individuals must undergo a disability determination to be found disabled. SSA provides Compassionate Allowances, which identify specific diseases and medical conditions that meet the definition of a disability, thereby bypassing the disability determination process and expediting the eligibility process.

A Compassionate Allowance enables the eligibility determination process to be quicker, allowing benefits to reach individuals more quickly. SSA uses technology to identify medical conditions within disability benefit applications. These applications are then flagged for processing first. SSA will review your medical records to confirm that your health condition is on the Compassionate Allowance list.

The eligibility determination process can take months to years without this process. The conditions on the Compassionate Allowance list are severe enough to allow that individual’s application to be pushed to the front of the line to be processed first. Ensuring these individuals get benefits without having to wait. Living with a serious medical condition is stressful, and this process can ensure that individuals with the most severe conditions receive benefits faster.

There is a full list of around 300 conditions that qualify as Compassionate Allowances. There were 13 new conditions recently added to the list, which include:

· Au-Kline Syndrome

· Bilateral Anophthalmia

· Carey-Fineman-Ziter Syndrome

· Harlequin Ichthyosis-Child

· Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation

· LMNA-related Congenital Muscular Dystrophy

· Progressive Muscular Dystrophy

· Pulmonary Amyloidosis-AL Type

· Rasmussen Encephalitis

· Thymic Carcinoma

· Turnpenny-Fry Syndrome

· WHO Grade III Meningiomas

This list is updated with new conditions when individuals request that a condition be added, and it is deemed severe enough. If you don’t see your condition on this list, you can submit a condition to be assessed. SSA receives suggestions for potential medical conditions to be added from Social Security and Disability Determination service communities, medical and scientific experts, the National Institute of Health, and public outreach hearings. The Compassionate Allowance helps individuals with the most severe medical conditions receive SSA benefits quickly, ensuring that benefits reach those most in need.

Social Security Disability Resources

• You can find more information about Compassionate Allowance and access the list of medical conditions approved at 

https://www.ssa.gov/compassionateallowances/index.htm

• To find out more information about submitting a condition for consideration, go to https://www.ssa.gov/compassionateallowances/submit_potential_cal.html?tl=0%2C2