A previous blog post identified five new conditions that will be added to Social Security’s Compassionate Allowance list, which is a list of medical conditions that meet Social Security’s standard for disability rules. The idea behind this list of conditions is that anyone diagnosed with one of these conditions is supposed to be given fast-tracked processing of disability claims, but is that happening?
The Compassionate Allowance list is a bit of a mixed bag. Certainly there are people who have benefited from this fast-tracked processing approach. Nancy Berryhill, acting commissioner of Social Security, said that more than 500,000 people have been approved for benefits through this approach in the last decade.
“The Compassionate Allowance list has helped us identify and fast-track cases where individuals have diseases that are most likely to be approved for disability benefits,” Berryhill said in a press release from Social Security. “Social Security is committed to ensuring Americans with qualifying disabilities quickly receive the benefits they need.”
The amount of people approved under the Compassionate Allowance program, 500,000, according to Berryhill, seems like a large number, but remember this was over a 10-year period and several millions of people file a disability claim each year. The people approved for a Compassionate Allowance listing are just a small percentage of the overall amount of claims filed each year. One of the main reasons such a small percentage of people qualify for Compassionate Allowance conditions is that the listing of conditions are rather rare disorders that don’t show-up much on disability claims. The list of the most recent additions to the list are five more rare disorders, so very few people actual suffer from the conditions that are found on the Compassionate Allowance list. Overall, it is still a valuable program and anytime Social Security fast-tracks a decision, it is a positive step for disability claimants.
