The Social Security Administrations Announces New Compassionate Allowances Conditions

The Social Security Administration (“SSA”) announced this month the addition of 25 new Compassionate Allowances conditions to the Compassionate Allowances program. This brings the total number of conditions on the list to 225. Disabilities that comprise the Compassionate Allowance list represent the most serious disabilities that affect individuals. The purpose of the program is to expedite disability decisions, so individuals suffering from these severe diseases receive their benefit decisions as quick as possible. Close to 200,000 people with life-threatening disabilities have received their benefits through this expedited process.  The new additions include:

1. Angiosarcoma
2. Atypical Teratoid/Rhabdoid Tumor
3. Chronic Idiopathic Intestinal Pseudo Obstruction
4. Coffin- Lowry Syndrome
5. Esthesioneuroblastoma
6. Giant Axonal Neuropathy
7. Hoyeaal-Hreidarsson Syndrome
8. Intracranial Hemangiopericytoma
9. Joubert Syndrome
10. Leptomeningeal Carcinomatosis
11. Liposarcoma- metastatic or recurrent
12. Malignant Ectomesenchymoma
13. Malignant Renal Rhabdoid Tumor
14. Marshall-Smith Syndrome
15. Oligodendroglioma Brain Tumor- Grade III
16. Pallister-Killian Syndrome
17. Progressive Bulbar Palsy
18. Prostate Cancer - Hormone Refractory Disease - or with visceral metastases
19. Revesz Syndrome
20. Seckel Syndrome
21. Sjogren-Larsson Syndrome
22. Small Cell Cancer of the Thymus
23. Soft Tissue Sarcoma- with distant metastases or recurrent
24. X-Linked Lymphoproliferative Disease
25. X-Linked Myotubular Myopathy

To see a complete list of all the impairments which qualify for the Compassionate Allowances program, visit this website: http://www.ssa.gov/compassionateallowances/conditions.htm

 Got a question that you need answered? Please check out our website at www.westcoastdisability.com . We try to provide you with valuable information on our website that may help you navigate the Social Security Disability process. Also, feel free to shoot us an email at info@westcoastdisability.com or call us at (800) 459-3017.

How Does The Social Security Administration Determine Disability?

To receive benefits under the Social Security Disability program, you must have a physical or mental impairment (or a combination of impairments) severe enough to keep you from working fulltime in any regular paying job for at least one year or result in death. The test isn't whether or not you can return to your old job, and the test isn't whether or not you have been able to find a job lately. Rather, the test is whether you are capable of doing any job available in the national economy (even if this job involves different skills or pays less than your previous work). By using an extensive set of regulations, the Social Security Administration takes into account your medical condition, age, abilities, training, and work experience in deciding a case.

 The Five Step Evaluation that Social Security uses to determine if you are disabled is as follows:

 

 1. Are you working?

If you are working and earning more than the current Substantial Gainful Activity amount (currently $1,070.00 a month), you generally cannot be considered disabled.

 2. Is your condition severe?

Your impairment(s) must be expected to last one year or result in death and interfere with basic work related activities.

 3. Is your condition found in the list of disabling impairments?

Social Security maintains a list of impairments for each of the major body systems that are so severe they automatically entitle you to disability. If your condition is not on this list, Social Security has to decide if it is of equal severity to an impairment on this list. If it is, the claim is approved. If it is not, Social Security goes on to the next step. 

4. Can you do the work you did previously?

Does your impairment prevent you from doing any work that you performed in the last fifteen (15) years? If it does not, the claim will be denied. If it does, the claim will proceed to the fifth and final step of the evaluation.

5. Can you do any other type of work available in the national economy?

Social Security considers your age, education, past work experience, and transferable skills against the job demands of occupations as determined by the Department of Labor. If you cannot do any other kind of work, the claim will be approved. If you can, the claim will be denied.