Compassionate Allowance

Last month, the Social Security Administration announced 12 new Compassionate Allowances conditions.

The Compassionate Allowances program works to quickly identify claims when the applicant’s condition or disease clearly meets Social Security’s standard for disability.

“The Social Security Administration is committed to reducing barriers and ensuring people who are eligible for benefits receive them,” said Acting Commissioner Kilolo Kijakazi. “Our Compassionate Allowances program allows us to strengthen that commitment by accelerating the disability application process for people with the most severe disabilities.”

Due to the severe nature of the conditions that qualify for the Compassionate Allowances program, the claims are often allowed based on medical confirmation of the diagnosis alone.  To date, more than 800,000 people with these disabilities have been approved through the accelerated process.

The Compassionate Allowances program has grown to include 266 conditions. The recently approved conditions include Angioimmunoblastic T-cell Lymphoma, Blastic Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cell Neoplasm, Gerstmann-Straussler-Scheinker Disease, Microvillus Inclusion Disease – Child, Mowat-Wilson Syndrome, Myelodysplastic Syndrome with Excess Blasts, NUT Carcinoma, Pfeiffer Syndrome - Types II and III, Pontocerebellar Hypoplasia, Posterior Cortical Atrophy, Renal Amyloidosis – AL Type, and Sarcomatoid Mesothelioma.

When a person applies for disability benefits, Social Security must obtain medical records in order to make an accurate determination. The agency incorporates leading technology to identify potential Compassionate Allowances cases and make quick decisions. Social Security’s ‘Health IT’ brings the speed and efficiency of electronic medical records to the disability determination process. With electronic records transmission, Social Security can quickly obtain a claimant’s medical information, review it, and make a fast determination.

For more information about the program, including a list of all Compassionate Allowances conditions, please visit www.socialsecurity.gov/compassionateallowances.