We have spoken about the Compassionate Allowances program for expedited claims. Recently certain medical conditions have been added to the compassionate allowance listing allowing for claims to be more quickly reviewed. Also, the Social Security Administration has been fast-tracking disabled veteran applications where the veteran demonstrates that he or she is 100 percent disabled.
Other than the expediting of claims, recipients under the Compassionate Allowance still must go through the same application process. This means that the Social Security Administration will require the same level of proof as other claims and will periodically conduct continuing eligibility reviews.
While there may be a perception that most of the illnesses listed under the Compassionate Allowance program are rare, more common diseases such as leukemia, Alzheimer’s disease, Huntington’s diseases, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and prostate, ovarian and pancreatic cancers can also be included.
Obviously no one hopes to become disabled due to a catastrophic illness or injury. Individuals disabled through illness or injury need and deserve to have some sort of safety net in place and to have their claim heard as soon as possible. Individuals from Chicago qualified for SSDI have paid into the SSA and are now suffering severe handicaps because of their disabilities. These individuals often cannot afford to wait upon their Social Security claim.
Nevertheless, the processing of an SSDI claim can be frustrating for applicants. SSDI applications must be filled out and preparations must be made for the disability hearing. It’s difficult for applicants to understand what the process will be like unless they speak to someone such as an experienced Social Security disability lawyer who has assisted other applicants in getting their claims approved.
Source: Houston Chronicle, “Elder Law: Expanded Compassionate Allowances list reduces SSA applicant wait time,” April 14, 2014
