We have spoken many times in this blog about how patience is a virtue when it comes to applying for Social Security Disability benefits. Initial applications are often rejected, requiring applicants to appeal. The process can take time.
Sadly, many disabled or seriously ill people do not have much time left. A terminal condition could mean an SSD applicant is not expected to live more than several more months. They cannot wait for the regular application process to resolve itself. Instead, they need SSD funds as soon as possible.
The Social Security Administration recognizes that some conditions give patients little time to wait to be approved for SSD. The agency provides Compassionate Allowances, or CAL, for many people in this position.
As the SSA says on its website, those who qualify for a Compassionate Allowance can get approved for SSD payments without going through as stringent of an approval process. Instead, the applicant need only provide “minimal objective medical information” to the agency.
The list of conditions that qualify for Compassionate Allowance is not static, and the SSA periodically adds conditions, as it gains evidence of rare diseases or ones it becomes convinced deserve fast tracking.
Obviously, the dark side to having such a disorder is that the patient’s qualify of life is likely low, and he or she may not have long to live. They need help right now paying their expenses, so that they do not leave their families deeply in debt. If granted in a timely manner, SSD payments can help alleviate the financial strain.
