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100
disability conditions fast-tracked by Social Security
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[January 20, 2012]
Here’s
some important news if you’re applying for Social Security
disability benefits for yourself or a loved one. There are 100
conditions which qualify for an expedited process known as
Compassionate Allowances.
Compassionate Allowances,
which began in December 2007, are a way to quickly identify diseases
and other medical conditions that, by definition, meet Social
Security’s standards for disability benefits.
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“We have an obligation to
award benefits quickly to people whose medical conditions are so
serious they clearly meet our disability standards,” said Michael J.
Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security. “We are now able to do
precisely that for 100 severe conditions.”
The Compassionate Allowances
conditions are developed from information received at public
outreach hearings, and from the Social Security and Disability
Determination Service communities, medical and scientific experts,
and the National Institutes of Health. We also consider which
conditions are most likely to meet our definition of disability.
“By definition, these
illnesses are so severe that we don’t need to fully develop the
applicant’s work history to make a decision,” said Commissioner
Astrue. “As a result, Social Security has eliminated this part of
the application process for people who have a condition on the list,
and we can award benefits much more quickly.”
The Compassionate
Allowances initiative is one of two parts of the agency’s fast-track
system for certain disability claims. When combined with the Quick
Disability Determination (QDD) process, Social Security last year
approved the claims of more than 100,000 people, usually in less
than two weeks. This year, the agency expects to fast-track nearly
150,000 cases. Under QDD, a predictive model analyzes specific
elements of data within the electronic claims file to identify
claims where there is a high potential the claimant is disabled and
where evidence of the person’s allegations can be quickly and easily
obtained.
For more information on
Compassionate Allowances, including a list of all 100 conditions,
visit
www.socialsecurity.gov/compassionateallowances.
By Judith Bartels
Social Security District
Manager in Springfield, IL
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