The Social Security Administration (SSA) has added 14 new rare health conditions to its Compassionate Allowances (CAL) list, which expedites the disability application process for individuals with severe medical conditions. This expansion brings the total number of conditions on the CAL list to 314.

The CAL initiative, established in 2008, aims to reduce the processing time for disability claims, which can otherwise take months to be approved or denied. Since its inception, the program has provided approvals to over 1.2 million individuals with severe disabilities.

"The Compassionate Allowances initiative cuts through red tape and allows us to deliver support to individuals who experience life-changing diagnoses and need help fast," said SSA Commissioner Frank J. Bisignano.

The newly added conditions include:

  • Adenylosuccinate Lyase Deficiency – Neonatal Form and Type 1
  • Aicardi Syndrome
  • Baraitser-Winter Syndrome
  • Beare-Stevenson Cutis Gyrata Syndrome
  • Bohring-Opitz Syndrome
  • CASK-Related Gene Disorders
  • Hepatosplenic T-Cell Lymphoma
  • Lafora Disease
  • Malignant Migrating Partial Seizures of Infancy (MMPSI)
  • OPHNI Syndrome
  • Primary Cardiac Sarcoma
  • Primary Intracranial Malignant Melanoma
  • Uveal Melanoma – with Metastases
  • Warburg Micro Syndrome

To facilitate faster decisions, the SSA utilizes its Health IT program to access electronic medical records, enabling quicker and more accurate determinations. The agency applies the same evaluation rules for CAL conditions when processing claims for both Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI).

SSI provides monthly payments to individuals with disabilities, as well as to older adults and disabled children, based on age or medical condition, limited income, and financial resources. Eligibility requires U.S. citizenship or specific alien classifications, and for those not applying based on age, it requires meeting disability or blindness criteria along with limited income and resources.

SSDI offers monthly payments to individuals whose disabilities prevent or limit their ability to work. Eligibility for SSDI is based on having a qualifying disability or blindness and a sufficient work history prior to the onset of the disability. SSDI benefits may also include Medicare.