Compassionate Allowances speed Social Security disability decisions to ensure that people with the most serious disabilities receive their benefits quickly, often within weeks. Recently, Social Security approved Compassionate Allowance benefits for nearly 61,000 people with these severe disabilities in the last year. Nearly 173,000 applications have been approved since the program began in 2008. As a frame of reference, there were about 225,000 new disability applications filed per month last year.
The initiative identifies claims where the applicant’s disease or condition clearly meets the statutory standard for disability. With the aid of sophisticated technology, the agency can identify potential cases and then make decisions quickly.
Some of the conditions include certain cancers, adult brain disorders, a number of rare genetic disorders of children, early-onset Alzheimer’s disease, immune system conditions, and other disorders (see below for a complete list).
The agency also is working to improve its online disability application process. They claim it is substantially shorter than the standard paper application. Adults filing for benefits online have had the option to electronically sign the entire disability application online. Our office is available to help you through this process. Even the online application process can be daunting to a sick person.
Please let us know if we can talk to you on any of these processes. Missing something can add many months to the process. We can help compassionate allowance claims line up with all appropriate evidence, to make it easier for you.
Further Resources:
- SSA’s Compassionate Allowances website – This has a complete list of all conditions and how to expedite your claim:
- Acute Leukemia
- Adrenal Cancer – with distant metastases or inoperable, unresectable or recurrent
- Adult Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
- Adult Onset Huntington Disease
- Aicardi-Goutieres Syndrome
- Alexander Disease (ALX) – Neonatal and Infantile
- Allan-Herndon-Dudley Syndrome
- Alobar Holoprosencephaly
- Alpers Disease
- Alpha Mannosidosis – Type II and III
- Alstrom Syndrome
- Alveolar Soft Part Sarcoma
- Amegakaryocytic Thrombocytopenia
- Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)
- Anaplastic Adrenal Cancer – with distant metastases or inoperable, unresectable or recurrent
- Angelman Syndrome
- Aortic Atresia
- Aplastic Anemia
- Astrocytoma – Grade III and IV
- Ataxia Telangiectasia
- Batten Disease
- Beta Thalassemia Major
- Bilateral Optic Atrophy- Infantile
- Bilateral Retinoblastoma
- Bladder Cancer – with distant metastases or inoperable or unresectable
- Breast Cancer – with distant metastases or inoperable or unresectable
- Canavan Disease (CD)
- Carcinoma of Unknown Primary Site
- Caudal Regression Syndrome – Types III and IV
- Cerebro Oculo Facio Skeletal (COFS) Syndrome
- Cerebrotendinous Xanthomatosis
- Child Neuroblastoma – with distant metastases or recurrent
- Child Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma – recurrent
- Child T-Cell Lymphoblastic Lymphoma
- Chondrosarcoma – with multimodal therapy
- Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML) – Blast Phase
- Congenital Lymphedema
- Cornelia de Lange Syndrome
- Corticobasal Degeneration
- Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) – Adult
- Cri du Chat Syndrome
- Degos Disease – Systemic
- DeSanctis Cacchione Syndrome
- Dravet Syndrome
- Early-Onset Alzheimer’s Disease
- Edwards Syndrome (Trisomy 18)
- Eisenmenger Syndrome
- Endometrial Stromal Sarcoma
- Endomyocardial Fibrosis
- Ependymoblastoma (Child Brain Tumor)
- Erdheim Chester Disease
- Esophageal Cancer
- Ewing Sarcoma
- Farber’s Disease (FD) – Infantile
- Fatal Familial Insomnia
- Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva
- Follicular Dendritic Cell Sarcoma – metastatic or recurrent
- Friedreichs Ataxia (FRDA)
- Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD), Picks Disease -Type A – Adult
- Fryns Syndrome
- Fucosidosis – Type 1
- Fukuyama Congenital Muscular Dystrophy
- Fulminant Giant Cell Myocarditis
- Galactosialidosis – Early and Late Infantile Types
- Gallbladder Cancer
- Gaucher Disease (GD) – Type 2
- Glioblastoma Multiforme (Adult Brain Tumor)
- Glioma Grade III and IV
- Glutaric Acidemia – Type II
- Head and Neck Cancers – with distant metastasis or inoperable or unresectable
- Heart Transplant Graft Failure
- Heart Transplant Wait List – 1A/1B
- Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) – Familial Type
- Hepatoblastoma
- Hepatopulmonary Syndrome
- Hepatorenal Syndrome
- Histiocytosis Syndromes
- Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome
- Hydranencephaly
- Hypocomplementemic Urticarial Vasculitis Syndrome
- Hypophosphatasia Perinatal (Lethal) and Infantile Onset Types
- Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome
- I Cell Disease
- Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis
- Infantile Free Sialic Acid Storage Disease
- Infantile Neuroaxonal Dystrophy (INAD)
- Infantile Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinoses
- Inflammatory Breast Cancer (IBC)
- Jervell and Lange-Nielsen Syndrome
- Junctional Epidermolysis Bullosa – Lethal Type
- Juvenile Onset Huntington Disease
- Kidney Cancer – inoperable or unresectable
- Krabbe Disease (KD) – Infantile
- Kufs Disease – Type A and B
- Large Intestine Cancer – with distant metastasis or inoperable, unresectable or recurrent
- Late Infantile Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinoses
- Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD) Recipient
- Leigh’s Disease
- Leiomyosarcoma
- Lesch-Nyhan Syndrome (LNS)
- Lewy Body Dementia
- Lissencephaly
- Liver Cancer
- Lowe Syndrome
- Lymphomatoid Granulomatosis – Grade III
- Malignant Brain Stem Gliomas – Childhood
- Malignant Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor
- Malignant Germ Cell Tumor
- Malignant Melanoma – with metastases
- Malignant Multiple Sclerosis
- Mantle Cell Lymphoma (MCL)
- Maple Syrup Urine Disease
- Mastocytosis – Type IV
- MECP2 Duplication Syndrome
- Medulloblastoma – with metastases
- Menkes Disease – Classic or Infantile Onset Form
- Merkel Cell Carcinoma – with metastases
- Merosin Deficient Congenital Muscular Dystrophy
- Metachromatic Leukodystrophy (MLD) – Late Infantile
- Mitral Valve Atresia
- Mixed Dementias
- MPS I, formerly known as Hurler Syndrome
- MPS II, formerly known as Hunter Syndrome
- MPS III, formerly known as Sanfilippo Syndrome
- Mucosal Malignant Melanoma
- Multicentric Castleman Disease
- Multiple System Atrophy
- Myoclonic Epilepsy with Ragged Red Fibers Syndrome
- Neonatal Adrenoleukodystrophy
- Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis
- Neurodegeneration with Brain Iron Accumulation – Types 1 and 2
- NFU-1 Mitochondrial Disease
- Niemann-Pick Disease (NPD) – Type A
- Niemann-Pick Disease-Type C
- Nonketotic Hyperglycinemia
- Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer – with metastases to or beyond the hilar nodes or inoperable, unresectable or recurrent
- Obliterative Bronchiolitis
- Ohtahara Syndrome
- Ornithine Transcarbamylase (OTC) Deficiency
- Orthochromatic Leukodystrophy with Pigmented Glia
- Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI) – Type II
- Osteosarcoma, formerly known as Bone Cancer – with distant metastases or inoperable or unresectable
- Ovarian Cancer – with distant metastases or inoperable or unresectable
- Pancreatic Cancer
- Paraneoplastic Pemphigus
- Patau Syndrome (Trisomy 13)
- Pearson Syndrome
- Pelizaeus-Merzbacher Disease-Classic Form
- Pelizaeus-Merzbacher Disease-Connatal Form
- Peripheral Nerve Cancer – metastatic or recurrent
- Peritoneal Mesothelioma
- Peritoneal Mucinous Carcinomatosis
- Perry Syndrome
- Phelan-McDermid Syndrome
- Pleural Mesothelioma
- Pompe Disease – Infantile
- Primary Cardiac Amyloidosis
- Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma
- Primary Effusion Lymphoma
- Primary Progressive Aphasia
- Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy
- Progressive Supranuclear Palsy
- Pulmonary Atresia
- Pulmonary Kaposi Sarcoma
- Retinopathy of Prematurity – Stage V
- Rett (RTT) Syndrome
- Rhabdomyosarcoma
- Rhizomelic Chondrodysplasia Punctata
- Roberts Syndrome
- Salivary Tumors
- Sandhoff Disease
- Schindler Disease – Type 1
- Severe Combined Immunodeficiency – Childhood
- Single Ventricle
- Sinonasal Cancer
- Small Cell Cancer (of the Large Intestine, Ovary, Prostate, or Uterus)
- Small Cell Lung Cancer
- Small Intestine Cancer – with distant metastases or inoperable, unresectable or recurrent
- Smith Lemli Opitz Syndrome
- Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) – Types 0 and 1
- Spinal Nerve Root Cancer-metastatic or recurrent
- Spinocerebellar Ataxia
- Stiff Person Syndrome
- Stomach Cancer – with distant metastases or inoperable, unresectable or recurrent
- Subacute Sclerosing Panencephalitis
- Tabes Dorsalis
- Tay Sachs Disease – Infantile Type
- Thanatophoric Dysplasia – Type 1
- The ALS/Parkinsonism Dementia Complex
- Thyroid Cancer
- Transplant Coronary Artery Vasculopathy
- Tricuspid Atresia
- Ullrich Congenital Muscular Dystrophy
- Ureter Cancer – with distant metastases or inoperable, unresectable or recurrent
- Usher Syndrome – Type I
- Walker Warburg Syndrome
- Wolf-Hirschhorn Syndrome
- Wolman Disease
- Xeroderma Pigmentosum
- Zellweger Syndrome
