A person filing for Social Security Disability (SSD) benefits is likely going to face a lengthy wait for their application to go through the process. While this might not be anything more than an inconvenience for some people, others have a condition so severe that having to wait could mean that they pass away or suffer irreversible harm if they have to wait for benefits.
The Social Security Administration (SSA) maintains a list of conditions that meet the definition of a disability according to the agency’s standards. These conditions qualify for the Compassionate Allowances Program, which means the applicant can receive benefits they are due sooner.
During the application process, the person has to enter the names of the conditions they have. Using technology, the agency can vet the applications that include a condition on the Compassionate Allowances list. The conditions on this list were added based on a variety of sources, including medical experts and information from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Anyone who is considering filing for disability should check the list to determine whether their conditions are noted. Many of the conditions on the list are adult brain disorders, cancers or rare disorders that impact children. Some of these include:
- Parkinson’s disease
- Batten disease
- Child lymphoblastic lymphoma
- Child neuroblastoma
- Trisomy 18
- Ewing sarcoma
- Heart transplant wait list categories 1A or 1B
- Hypoplastic left heart syndrome/hypoplastic right heart syndrome
- Infantile Krabbe disease
- NFU-1 mitochondrial disease
- Pleural mesothelioma
- Rhabdomyoscarcoma
- Tetrasomy 18p
- Inflammatory breast cancer
- Acute leukemia
Even if you do have one of these conditions, you might find that the disability application process isn’t easy. Ultimately, your goal is to get the financial help that you need at a time when your life might depend on it.