How to Get Quick Approval for Certain Disability Claims - Compassionate Allowances Program

The Social Security Administration provides long-term disability benefits to U.S. workers who are unable to work for more than 12 months due to a physical, mental or emotional medical condition.

Although evaluating each case might take several months or even years, Social Security can fast-track the process for some cases if they fall under its Compassionate Allowances Program.

This is an initiative designed to streamline the process so that applicants can quickly receive benefits for conditions that are known to cause severe or life-threatening disabilities.

How it Works

The Social Security Administration (SSA) introduced the Compassionate Allowances Program in 2008 with about 50 diseases and conditions, including certain cancers, adult brain disorders and immune system conditions. Today, the list includes a little more than 100 conditions, and by the summer of 2012 it is expected to grow to 165.

“These are diseases that are so severe that we do not need to obtain the applicant’s complete work history in order to make a decision, and therefore the process is quicker,” said Diana Varela, a spokesperson for the agency in Washington DC.

SSA is constantly evaluating new conditions to add to the list. You can see most updated version of the diseases and conditions in the Compassionate Allowances Program on the SSA website.

How to Apply

The process to apply for the Compassionate Allowances Program is the same as applying for general disability benefits. However, if the SSA determines that a condition qualifies for the Compassionate Allowances Program, the approval process is much quicker.

You can apply for disability benefits online without having to go to a Social Security office. Generally, you will need to provide the following information:

•General information such as your name, date of birth, and Social Security number, as well as those of your spouse and underage children. Also, you need to provide your bank account information and an additional contact in case you cannot be reached.
•Medical information such as name, address and telephone numbers of doctors, clinics and hospitals where you receive treatment, as well as your employer’s information. Also, the name of the medicines you have taken and medical history, among other things.

How to Get More Information
To find out more information about Social Security benefits visit SocialSecurity.gov or call (800) 772-1213.

For Social Security Compassionate Allowances Conditions webpage: CLICK HERE

Complete List of Compassionate Allowances Conditions
posted June 2012

1 Acute Leukemia
2 Adrenal Cancer - with distant metastases or inoperable, unresectable or recurrent
3 Aicardi-Goutieres Syndrome
4 Alexander Disease (ALX) - Neonatal and Infantile
5 Alobar Holoprosencephaly
6 Alpers Disease
7 Alpha Mannosidosis - Type II/III
8 ALS/Parkinsonism Dementia Complex
9 Alstrom Syndrome
10 Amegakaryocytic Thrombocytopenia
11 Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)
12 Anaplastic Adrenal Cancer - with distant metastases or inoperable, unresectable or recurrent
13 Angelman Syndrome
14 Aortic Atresia
15 Astrocytoma - Grade III and IV
16 Ataxia Telangiectasia
17 Batten Disease
18 Bilateral Retinoblastoma
19 Bladder Cancer - with distant metastases or inoperable or unresectable
20 Breast Cancer - with distant metastases or inoperable or unresectable
21 Canavan Disease (CD)
22 Carcinoma of Unknown Primary Site
23 Cerebro Oculo Facio Skeletal (COFS) Syndrome
24 Cerebrotendinous Xanthomatosis
25 Child Neuroblastoma
26 Child Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
27 Chondrosarcoma with multimodal therapy
28 Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML) - Blast Phase
29 Cornelia de Lange Syndrome-Classic Form
30 Corticobasal Degeneration
31 Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) - Adult
32 Cri du Chat Syndrome
33 Degos Disease, Systemic
34 Early-Onset Alzheimer’s Disease
35 Edwards Syndrome (Trisomy 18)
36 Eisenmenger Syndrome
37 Endomyocardial Fibrosis
38 Ependymoblastoma (Child Brain Tumor)
39 Esophageal Cancer
40 Ewings Sarcoma
41 Farber's Disease (FD) - Infantile
42 Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva
43 Follicular Dendritic Cell Sarcoma with metastases
44 Friedreichs Ataxia (FRDA)
45 Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD), Picks Disease -Type A - Adult
46 Fucosidosis - Type 1
47 Fukuyama Congenital Muscular Dystrophy
48 Galactosialidosis - Early Infantile Type
49 Gallbladder Cancer
50 Gaucher Disease (GD) - Type 2
51 Glioblastoma Multiforme (Adult Brain Tumor)
52 Glioma Grade III and IV
53 Glutaric Acidemia Type II (Neonatal)
54 Hallervorden-Spatz Disease
55 Head and Neck Cancers - with distant metastasis or inoperable or uresectable
56 Heart Transplant Graft Failure
57 Heart Transplant Wait List, 1A/1B
58 Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), Familial Type
59 Hepatoblastoma
60 Histiocytosis
61 Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome
62 Hydranencephaly
63 Hypocomplementemic Urticarial Vasculitis
64 Hypophosphatasia Perinatal lethal form
65 Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome
66 I Cell disease
67 Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis
68 Infantile Free Sialic Acid Storage Disease
69 Infantile Neuroaxonal Dystrophy (INAD)
70 Infantile Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinoses
71 Inflammatory Breast Cancer (IBC)
72 Junctional Epidermolysis Bullosa, Lethal Type
73 Juvenile Onset Huntington Disease
74 Kidney Cancer - inoperable or unresectable
75 Krabbe Disease (KD) - Infantile
76 Kufs Disease Type A and B
77 Large Intestine Cancer - with distant metastasis or inoperable, unresectable or recurrent
78 Late Infantile Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinoses
79 Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD) Recipient
80 Leigh’s Disease
81 Lesch-Nyhan Syndrome (LNS)
82 Lewy Body Dementia
83 Lissencephaly
84 Liver Cancer
85 Lowe Syndrome
86 Lymphomatoid Granulomatosis Grade III
87 Malignant Brain Stem Glioma - Childhood
88 Malignant Melanoma with metastases
89 Malignant Multiple Sclerosis
90 Mantle Cell Lymphoma (MCL)
91 Maple Syrup Urine Disease
92 Mastocytosis Type IV
93 Medulloblastoma with metastasis
94 Merkel Cell Carcinoma with metastasis
95 Merosin Deficient Congenital Muscular Dystrophy
96 Metachromatic Leukodystrophy (MLD) - Late Infantile
97 Mitral Valve Atresia
98 Mixed Dementias
99 MPS I, formerly known as Hurler Syndrome
100 MPS II, formerly known as Hunter Syndrome
101 MPS III, formerly known as Sanfilippo Syndrome
102 Mucosal Malignant Melanoma
103 Multicentric Castleman Disease
104 Multiple System Atrophy
105 Myocolonic Epilepsy and Ragged Red Fibers Syndrome
106 Neonatal Adrenoleukodystrophy
107 Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis
108 Niemann-Pick Disease (NPD) - Type A
109 Niemann-Pick Disease-Type C
110 Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer - with metastases to or beyond the hilar nodes or inoperable, unresectable or recurrent
111 Obliterative Bronchiolitis
112 Ohtahara Syndrome
113 Ornithine Transcarbamylase (OTC) Deficiency
114 Orthochromatic Leukodystrophy with Pigmented Glia
115 Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI) - Type II
116 Osteosarcoma, formerly known as Bone Cancer - with distant metastases or inoperable or unresectable
117 Ovarian Cancer - with distant metastases or inoperable or unresectable
118 Pancreatic Cancer
119 Paraneoplastic Pemphigus
120 Patau Syndrome (Trisomy 13)
121 Pearson Syndrome
122 Pelizaeus-Merzbacher Disease-Classic Form
123 Pelizaeus-Merzbacher Disease-Connatal Form
124 Peripheral Nerve Cancer - metastatic or recurrent
125 Peritoneal Mesothelioma
126 Perry Syndrome
127 Pleural Mesothelioma
128 Pompe Disease - Infantile
129 Primary Cardiac Amyloidosis
130 Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma
131 Primary Effusion Lymphoma
132 Primary Progressive Aphasia
133 Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy
134 Progressive Supranuclear Palsy
135 Pulmonary Atresia
136 Pulmonary Kaposi Sarcoma
137 Rett (RTT) Syndrome
138 Rhabdomyosarcoma
139 Rhizomelic Chondrodysplasia Punctata
140 Salivary Tumors
141 Sandhoff Disease
142 Schindler Disease Type 1
143 Single Ventricle
144 Small Cell Cancer (of the Large Intestine, Ovary, Prostate, or Uterus)
145 Small Cell Lung Cancer
146 Small Intestine Cancer - with distant metastases or inoperable, unresectable or recurrent
147 Smith Lemli Opitz Syndrome
148 Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) - Types 0 And 1
149 Spinal Nerve Root Cancer-metastatic or recurrent
150 Spinocerebellar Ataxia
151 Stiff Person Syndrome
152 Stomach Cancer - with distant metastases or inoperable, unresectable or recurrent
153 Subacute Sclerosis Panencephalitis
154 Tabes Dorsalis
155 Tay Sachs Disease - Infantile Type
156 Thanatophoric Dysplasia, Type 1
157 Thyroid Cancer
158 Tricuspid Atresia
159 Ullrich Congenital Muscular Dystrophy
160 Ureter Cancer - with distant metastases or inoperable, unresectable or recurrent
161 Walker Warburg Syndrome
162 Wolf-Hirschhorn Syndrome
163 Wolman Disease
164 Xeroderma Pigmentosum
165 Zellweger Syndrome