When you have a condition that is severe enough to prevent you from working, you may try to secure Social Security Disability Insurance to help keep yourself afloat. The process of applying for benefits from the U.S. Social Security Administration is often lengthy and arduous. Many applicants wind up appealing after the SSA denies their initial claims.
AARP reports that if you have certain disabilities, you may be able to have the SSA fast-track its decision about whether to grant you SSDI benefits. Most applicants have to wait months before receiving a response about benefits. However, some conditions may warrant decisions that come within a matter of days, rather than months. What disabilities and conditions might warrant this special consideration?
Conditions that may warrant compassionate allowances
The SSA operates a Compassionate Allowances program that may help you have your application undergo faster processing. The administration maintains a list of more than 240 conditions and disabilities that may warrant a compassionate allowance. Such conditions include some rare genetic disorders, neurodegenerative diseases and immune-system disorders.
Cancers that may warrant compassionate allowances
If you have a terminal or fast-moving form of cancer, this may also warrant faster processing of your SSDI application. Such cancers may include adrenal, bladder, esophageal, fibrolamellar, kidney or liver cancer. Non-small cell lung cancer and certain types of brain and bone cancer may also mean faster processing times for your SSDI application.
Having one of these cancers may not automatically warrant a compassionate allowance. However, if the cancer has metastasized or become inoperable, it may fall under this umbrella.
