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Compassionate Allowances and the Social Security Administration
Posted by: Anna ONeil
December 14, 2009

Anyone that has been through or is currently in the process of applying for Social Security Disability benefits knows first hand how lengthy the process can be.  The average wait for an initial determination can be as long as three months, and in the Central New York area it can take anywhere from twelve to eighteen months to be scheduled for a hearing in front of an administrative law judge. 

In October 2008, Social Security implemented Compassionate Allowances to expedite the processing of claims for individuals that are facing devastating disabilities.  Compassionate Allowances are designed to quickly identify diseases and other medical conditions that qualify under Social Security listing of impairments and therefore provide individuals in these particular situations with an expedited approval process. 

In order to determine which conditions should qualify as a Compassionate Allowance, the Social Security Administration held a series of public outreach hearings.  This gave the public a rare opportunity to have direct input on what types of diseases and disabilities should be considered a Compassionate Allowance.  Additionally, Social Security considered the comments received from the Disability Determination Service, medical, and scientific communities.  Examples of impairments that qualify for the expedited determination process are rare diseases, cancers, traumatic brain injury, stroke, early onset Alzheimer’s disease and other related dementias. 

Most recently, in November 2009, Social Security hosted a public hearing to consider adding schizophrenia to the list of Compassionate Allowances.  The Commissioner of the Social Security Administration, Michael Astrue stated at the hearing, “Schizophrenia is a devastating disease that affects more than two million Americans, primarily individuals in their teens and twenties.  The onset of schizophrenia has life-changing consequences, which can include unemployment and homelessness. This hearing will help us to potentially identify the most severe cases and consider bringing them under our Compassionate Allowances umbrella."

If you think you have a disease or disability that qualifies as a Compassionate Allowance, or have any other sort of impairment that might qualify you for Social Security disability benefits, please give Stanley Law Offices a call at 1-800-372-3760 to speak with a member of our team. 

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