Social Security Compassionate Allowances Means Quick Determinations in Some Cases

In October 2008, Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security announced the beginning of a new program named “Compassionate Allowances.” This program is designed to give very quick (in some instances six to eight days) awards of social security disability for claimants whose medical conditions are so severe that their conditions obviously meet the Social Security disability standards. This fast track approach deals, at least at this point, with people who have cancers and rare diseases.

The “50” conditions are: acute leukemia; adrenal cancer; Alexander Disease; amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; anaplastic adrenal cancer; astroycytoma; bladder cancer; bone cancer; breast cancer; canavan disease; cerebro oculo facio skeletal syndrome; chronic myelogenous leukemia; creutzfeldt-jakob disease; ependymoblastoma; esophageal cancer; Farber’s diesease; Friedreichs Ataxia; Frontotemporal Dementia; gallbladder cancer; Gaucher disease; glioblastoma multiforme; head and neck cancers; infantile neuroaxonal dystrophy; inflammatory breast cancer; kidney cancer; krabble disease; large intestine cancer; Lesch-Nyhan syndrome; liver cancer; mantle cell lymphoma; metachromatic leukodystrophy; Niemann-Pick disease; non-small cell lung cancer; ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency; osteogensis imperfecta; ovarian cancer; pancreatic cancer; peritoneal mesothelioma; pleural mesothelioma; pompe disease; Rett Syndrome; Sandhoff Disease; small cell cancer; small cell lung cancer; small intestine cancer; spinal muscular atrophy; stomach cancer; thyroid cancer and ureter cancer.

According to the POMS, while the medical documentation may be “minimal” it must be “sufficient” and “objective”.

Social Security believes that as many as 250,000 cases under this program will be decided in an average of six to eight days.

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