Becoming ill with a serious illness can quickly become life-changing, especially if you are no longer able to work, or medically advised not to. Many types of illnesses that develop over time can suddenly show symptoms long before you realize something is wrong. At that point, it becomes obvious that you need to begin your application for disability.
Social Security is well-known for its long application and examination period for approval. Many applicants must go through the appeals process in order to be awarded benefits for disability. It may be months before you begin receiving benefit payments, depending on a number of factors.
However, if your illness is one of a series on a list for compassionate allowances, the waiting period may be considerably less.
The Compassionate Allowance
Social Security has a list of 200 conditions that will qualify you for benefits nearly immediately. Applicants who have one of these serious conditions can be processed faster, especially if they include medical documentation.
Indicating that you have one of these conditions is enough to move your application into the fast-tracked category. With a small amount of medical documentation, your award decision could come within days or weeks, not months or years.
Once you’ve established that you have one of these 200 conditions, you’ll be automatically qualified for disability benefits.
Review the list to see if you have an included condition. Not every serious illness is on the list, and some require a certain degree of progression before they are fast-tracked.
Conditions That Qualify
The list of included conditions contains illnesses such as:
- ALS (Lou Gerig’s Disease)
- Early-onset Alzheimer’s Disease
- Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma (Adult)
- Inoperable breast and bladder cancers
- Esophageal cancer
- Gallbladder cancer
- Lewy Body Dementia
- Kidney and liver cancers
- Ovarian cancer (inoperable)
- Peritoneal Mesothelioma
- Transplants, such as kidney, lung, heart, and liver
These are just a few of the conditions on the agency’s list.
SSA has also added these new and rare conditions to the list for 2020:
- Secondary Adenocarcinoma of the Brain
- Desmoplastic Small Round Cell Tumors
- Nicolaides-Baraister Syndrome
- Rubinstein-Tybai Syndrome
- GM1 Gangliosidosis – Infantile and Juvenile Forms
HIV/AIDS is not included on this list and is covered by a separate process called a Presumptive Disability.
Some conditions qualify as a “presumptive” disability and allow claimants to begin collecting disability benefit payments even before Social Security makes a determination.
While benefits may start within a shorter period of time, claimants still must wait 24 months after the date of onset to begin receiving Medicare.
The Key: Medical Evidence
As with any kind of disability application, you must show SSA that you at least have been diagnosed with a serious illness before being approved.
It’s not enough for you to tell Social Security that you have one of these illnesses. You’re required to prove it with solid medical evidence. Attaching test results and/or a written diagnosis to your application can also accelerate the process.
Because having a condition under Compassionate Allowances is a near-automatic qualification, examiners contact doctors and other providers directly, usually by phone. This cuts down the waiting time for the required information.
Once Social Security has sufficient medical information to prove that you have a qualifying disorder, benefits should start between a few weeks and two or three months, on average.
Let Herren Law Help You With Your Disability Claim
We’ve helped over 4,000 Houstonians get their disability benefits. The Herren Law Firm in Houston, TX can assist with your application, appeals, and records gathering to prove your case, and win your claim. Contact us today at 713-682-8194 (or use our online contact form) to schedule your free consultation. There’s no obligation and no up-front fees, and we only collect a fee if we win your case.