Social Security adds 14 conditions to the fast-track disability list. See the full list.

Social Security has added 14 conditions to the list of those that qualify applicants for fast-tracked disability claims, expediting the process for people with those diagnoses.

The Compassionate Allowances program speeds up claims for people with severe or life-threatening conditions that clearly meet Social Security’s standards for disability benefits such as Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). 

Since the initiative began in 2008, more than 1.2 million people with severe disabilities have been approved through the accelerated process, the Social Security Administration said when it announced the additions Tuesday.

A typical disability application can otherwise take six to eight months to be approved.

What are the newly added conditions?

The newly added conditions are:

• Adenylosuccinate Lyase Deficiency – Neonatal Form and Type 1

• Aicardi Syndrome

• Baraitser-Winter Syndrome

• Beare-Stevenson Cutis Gyrata Syndrome

• Bohring-Opitz Syndrome

• CASK-Related Gene Disorders

• Hepatosplenic T-Cell Lymphoma

• Lafora Disease

• Malignant Migrating Partial Seizures of Infancy (MMPSI)

• OPHN1 Syndrome

• Primary Cardiac Sarcoma

• Primary Intracranial Malignant Melanoma

• Uveal Melanoma – with Metastases

• Warburg Micro Syndrome

The new conditions listed include primary cardiac sarcoma, a malignant heart tumor, and Warburg micro syndrome, which causes severe developmental impairment beginning in infancy. Most are rare disorders that emerge in early childhood.

What other conditions are listed for Compassionate Allowance?

As of Aug. 12, a total of 314 conditions are listed as eligible for Compassionate Allowance.

A full list of the conditions can be found below:

How do I request that my application be considered for Compassionate Allowance?

There is no separate form to complete or box to check to request a Compassionate Allowance.

You apply for disability benefits in the usual way, whether online, by phone or at a Social Security office, and the agency’s screening software checks incoming applications against the list. If your diagnosis matches a listed condition, your claim is flagged and automatically moved to the front of the queue.

To ensure your condition is identified in your application, use the exact medical name rather than a general description, Citizens Disability advises. With cancers in particular, the specific type should be listed. Whether the cancer has spread can matter as well: uveal melanoma, one of the newly added conditions, is listed only when it has metastasized.

Once your case is identified, an application can be approved in as little as a week, according to Citizens Disability.

Fast-tracking, however, does not guarantee approval. Your claim is still assessed on its merits, and medical records confirming the diagnosis are critical to allowing the case to move quickly.

When will my benefits be paid?

While Compassionate Allowances can speed up approval, some applicants may still have to wait months before benefits begin.

As the program isn’t a benefit in itself, it’s a faster path to the same two programs anyone else with a disability can apply for. 

Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) is an insurance benefit. Eligibility generally requires a sufficient work history and payment of Social Security payroll taxes, while the benefit amount depends on past earnings. Supplemental Security Income (SSI), by contrast, is based on income and assets and does not require a work history, which is why children with severe conditions generally qualify through that program.

SSI approval also generally brings Medicaid support right away, whereas SSDI recipients face an additional wait before Medicare begins.

For SSDI, fast-tracking doesn’t remove the waiting period. Benefits normally don’t start until five full months after the SSA determines the disability began, regardless of how quickly the claim is approved. ALS is exempt from that waiting period for people whose SSDI benefits were approved on or after July 23, 2020, according to SSA guidelines. The first benefit is paid for the sixth full month after the date SSA finds the disability began.