How Social Security Disability Benefits are Being Approved Faster in 2023

In August, 2023, the Acting Commissioner of Social Security, announced 12 new Compassionate Allowances conditions, which will enable the Social Security Administration (SSA.gov) to distribute benefits to applicants more swiftly than ever before.

First, we’ll explain Compassionate Allowances, then we’ll list the 12 new conditions that are being added to the category.

What are Compassionate Allowances?

The Compassionate Allowances initiative swiftly recognizes applications that unambiguously align with Social Security’s set criteria for disability. Given the critical nature of many listed conditions, verification of the medical diagnosis often suffices for approval. This expedited procedure, compliant with policy, has facilitated nearly 900,000 individuals with acute disabilities. The program now encompasses a total of 278 conditions.

What are the 12 New Conditions?

The new conditions being added to the Compassionate Allowances initiative are as follows:

1. 1p36 Deletion Syndrome: A chromosome disorder that typically causes severe intellectual disability. Most affected individuals do not speak, or speak only a few words. They may have temper tantrums, bite themselves, or exhibit other behavior problems.
2. Anaplastic Ependymoma: A fast-growing and aggressive tumor found most commonly in the brain, but can occur in the spinal cord as well.
3. Calciphylaxis: A disease in which calcium accumulates in small blood vessels of the fat and skin tissues, which causes blood clots, painful skin ulcers and may cause serious infections that can lead to death.
4. Cholangiocarcinoma: A type of cancer that forms in the slender tubes (bile ducts) that carry the digestive fluid bile.
5. FOXG1 Syndrome: A rare neuro-developmental disorder caused by a mutation of the FOXG1 gene, which impacts brain development and function.
6. Leber Congenital Amaurosis: A congenital eye disorder, which primarily affects the retina, which is the specialized tissue at the back of the eye that detects light and color.
7. Metastatic Endometrial Adenocarcinoma: A type of cancer that originated in the lining of the uterus (endometrium) and has spread to distant areas of the body.
8. Paraneoplastic Cerebellar Degeneration: An inflammatory autoimmune process that occurs due to the destruction of cerebellar Purkinje cells by onconeural antibodies
9. Pineoblastoma (Children and Adults): a type of cancer that starts in the brain’s pineal gland.
10. Pineoblastoma – Primary Omental Cancer: An omentum cancer that begins in the fatty tissue that starts in your stomach and extends to every organ in your abdomen.
11. Pineoblastoma – Sarcomatoid Carcinoma of the Lung – Stages II-IV:  a rare subtype of poorly differentiated non-small-cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) that accounts for 0.1%–0.4% of all lung cancers.
12. Trisomy 9: a rare chromosomal disorder in which the entire 9th chromosome appears three times (trisomy) rather than twice, causing growth deficiency and structural abnormalities.

How This Affects Your SSDI Claim

Oftentimes, the social security disability application process can be labyrinthian, especially if the applicant is dealing with a debilitating medical condition. With this expansion of the Compassionate Allowances initiative, affected applicants may be able to more effectively access the benefits that they deserve.

However, there is no better way to ensure a smooth application process than by hiring a qualified social security disability attorney. 

For a free consultation, click here or call (833) 613-0618.