Compassionate Allowances

In 2008, the Social Security Administration (SSA) implemented a program called the Compassionate Allowance initiative. This program was designed to help severely disabled individuals avoid the lengthy and frustrating Social Security Disability application and appeals processes that can often drag on for months or years due to the overwhelming backlog of disability applications processed annually by the SSA.

The Compassionate Allowances program contains provisions for disability applications based on a number of severely disabling medical conditions to receive expedited consideration if the claimant meets the criteria outlined in the Compassionate Allowance guidelines. In many cases, this expedited handling allows claimants suffering from a disability covered by the Compassionate Allowances listings to receive Social Security Disability benefits in as little as several weeks.

When the Compassionate Allowances initiative was originally created in 2008, it contained a total of 50 medical condition listings. In 2010, the SSA added 38 additional disabling medical conditions, for a total of 88 condition listings considered severe enough for expedited consideration under the program.

The 88 Social Security Compassionate Allowance listings are provided in alphabetical order below. Please click on any individual condition for information on that disability, including important considerations for filing an application for Social Security Disability benefits if you, or someone you know, has been diagnosed with that disease.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P R S T U W Z

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

R

S

T

U

W

Z

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