• 02
  • August
    2011

Since 2008 the Social Security Administration (SSA) has identified those applicants most critically in need of benefits and allowed them to circumvent much of the red tape that ensnares a typical Social Security benefits application to receive benefits rapidly - sometimes in as few as 14 days. The SSA processed 45,000 applications under the Compassionate Allowances program in 2010 and they anticipate doing 65,000 in 2011.

Beginning of the Compassionate Allowances Program

The idea for the Compassionate Allowances program was born in 1985 when now-SSA Commissioner Michael J. Astrue was attempting to get SSDI benefits for his father, who was struggling with brain cancer. Astrue saw first-hand how those who needed benefits most pressingly were caught in a system bogged down with backlogs and delays. Many applicants died before they received decisions on their applications.

When Astrue became Commissioner in 2007, he designed the Compassionate Allowances program to allow the SSA to process applications for those with certain conditions quickly based upon minimum objective medical criteria that the SSA could obtain without delay from healthcare providers.

He implemented the program in 2008, after holding a series of public outreach hearings and soliciting information from medical professionals and Social Security and Disability Determination offices to determine which conditions should be on the compassionate allowances list. Astrue continues to expand the compassionate allowances list, adding 38 conditions in 2010 and 12 in 2011 as a result of information from public outreach hearings.

How the Program Works

The Compassionate Allowances list contains 100 medical conditions, mostly rare and fatal diseases that clearly meet the SSA's medical listing criteria for benefit eligibility. Some of the conditions on the list are traumatic brain injury, early-onset Alzheimer's disease, other forms of dementia and several types of cancer.

Simply claiming to have one of the conditions on the list does not ensure that an applicant will receive benefits, however. It merely removes the burden of having to prove that they meet the medical listing eligibility requirements. The applicant still has to have a qualifying work history for SSDI benefits or meet income restrictions for SSI benefits.

Using the Compassionate Allowances program does speed up the process considerably, though. Without the need to show that an applicant meets the medical criteria, SSA can process an application much more rapidly - which is important, as many of the conditions on the list are fatal. When an applicant submits his or her initial application, computer modeling technology scans the application looking for conditions that match those on the Compassionate Allowances list. If there is a match, the SSA pulls the application and expedites its processing.

The application process for Social Security benefits can be frustratingly long and complicated. Many who apply for benefits have conditions that do not allow them the luxury of waiting many months for decisions on their applications. If you are in dire need of benefits because of a critical medical condition, do not hesitate to contact an experienced attorney who can guide you through the application process and see that you receive benefits as quickly as possible.

Source: Compassionate Allowances