Social Security Expands List of Compassionate Allowance Conditions Effective March 1

The Social Security Administration (SSA) announced in a press release today that they are adding 38 more qualifying medical conditions to the original list of 50 under the Compassionate Allowance initiative. This is the first expansion to the original list that was established in 2008.

The Compassionate Allowance initiative speeds up the SSDI and SSI approval process so that much-needed disability benefits can get to people who clearly meet SSA’s criteria of disabling conditions.

“The expansion we are announcing today,” said Michael J. Astrue, commissioner of Social Security, “means tens of thousands of Americans with devastating disabilities will now get approved for benefits in a matter of days rather than months and years.”

The initial list of Compassionate Allowance conditions was developed through a series of public hearings that reached out to families affected by certain disabilities, the medical and scientific communities, Social Security and Disability Determination Services (DDS). The hearings established 25 rare diseases and 25 cancers.

Since then, public hearings have been on-going to identify more qualifying conditions.

“We will continue to hold hearings and look for other diseases and conditions that can be added to our list of Compassionate Allowances,” said Astrue.  “There can be no higher priority than getting disability benefits quickly to those Americans with these severe and life-threatening conditions.”