SSA Adds New Allowances to Speed Disability Benefits

The Social Security Administration added more than three dozen new medical conditions to its list of Compassionate Allowances -- the first expansion since the original list of 50 conditions - 25 rare diseases and 25 cancers - was announced in October 2008. The new conditions range from adult brain disorders to rare diseases that primarily affect children.

“The addition of these new conditions expands the scope of Compassionate Allowances to a broader subgroup of conditions like early-onset Alzheimer’s disease,” said Commissioner Michael Astrue. “The expansion we are announcing today means tens of thousands of Americans with devastating disabilities will now get approved for benefits in a matter of days rather than months and years.”

Compassionate Allowances are a way of quickly identifying diseases and other medical conditions that clearly qualify for Social Security and Supplemental Security Income disability benefits. It allows the agency to electronically target and make speedy decisions for the most obviously disabled individuals. In developing the expanded list of conditions, Social Security held public hearings and worked closely with the National Institutes of Health, the Alzheimer’s Association, the National Organization for Rare Disorders, and other groups.

New Compassionate Allowance Conditions include:
1.Alstrom Syndrome
2.Amegakaryocytic Thrombocytopenia
3.Ataxia Spinocerebellar
4.Ataxia Telangiectasia
5.Batten Disease
6.Bilateral Retinoblastoma
7.Cri du Chat Syndrome
8.Degos Disease
9.Early-Onset Alzheimer’s Disease
10.Edwards Syndrome
11.Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva
12.Fukuyama Congenital Muscular Dystrophy
13.Glutaric Acidemia Type II
14.Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), Familial Type
15.Hurler Syndrome, Type IH
16.Hunter Syndrome, Type II
17.Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis
18.Junctional Epidermolysis Bullosa, Lethal Type
19.Late Infantile Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinoses
20.Leigh’s Disease
21.Maple Syrup Urine Disease
22.Merosin Deficient Congenital Muscular Dystrophy
23.Mixed Dementia
24.Mucosal Malignant Melanoma
25.Neonatal Adrenoleukodystrophy
26.Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinoses, Infantile Type
27.Niemann-Pick Type C
28.Patau Syndrome
29.Primary Progressive Aphasia
30.Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy
31.Sanfilippo Syndrome
32.Subacute Sclerosis Panencephalitis
33.Tay Sachs Disease
34.Thanatophoric Dysplasia, Type 1
35.Ullrich Congenital Muscular Dystrophy
36.Walker Warburg Syndrome
37.Wolman Disease
38.Zellweger Syndrome