Social Security adds 14 rare health conditions to fast-track disability list — here’s who’s eligible

The Social Security Administration (SSA) has just made it easier for folks with rare health conditions to secure some green.

The SSA has just announced that 14 new conditions will be added to the agency’s Compassionate Allowances (CAL) list, bringing the total number of medical conditions to 314. Making it on the CAL list fast-tracks the disability application process as it can take months or more to be approved or denied. 

The CAL list started back in 2008, and has since given over 1.2 million people with severe disabilities approval under Compassionate Allowances, according to the SSA.

“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,” Frank J. Bisignano, commissioner of the SSA, said in a statement.

The 14 new health conditions added to the CAL list are:

• 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)
• OPHN1 Syndrome
• Primary Cardiac Sarcoma
• Primary Intracranial Malignant Melanoma
• Uveal Melanoma – with Metastases
• Warburg Micro Syndrome

For the entire list, head to the Social Security website.

To apply for disability benefits from conditions on the CAL list, the SSA needs your medical records in order to make an accurate determination. Through its Health IT program, the agency will can access to your electronic medical records, allowing for quicker and more accurate decisions, according to the SSA.

The SSA uses the same rules to evaluate CAL conditions when assessing both Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) programs.

SSI is a program within Social Security and provides monthly payments to those with disabilities as well as older adults and disabled children. Millions of monthly benefits are issued each month based on age or medical condition, limited income, and few financial resources that factor into each check.

To be considered eligible, you must meet a few factors, according to the SSA. You must be a US citizen or national or a “noncitizen in one of certain alien classifications,” the SSA said.

Additionally, you must be at least 65, blind or disabled, have limited income and have limited resources. Check the Social Security website for more information on income levels and eligibility.

Checks are distributed on the first of every month, unless it falls on a weekend or holiday.

The SSDI provides monthly payments to people who have a disability that stops or limits their ability to work. The SSA says you qualify if you have a disability or blindness, and enough work history.

Your benefits may include a monthly payment and Medicare and is based on your work history before your disability began.

SSDI payments are usually scheduled on the same Wednesday-based timetable as Social Security retirement benefits. But some beneficiaries may receive payments on different dates because of when they first started receiving benefits or other scheduling rules.