The Social Security Administration added 14 medical conditions to its Compassionate Allowances list on Tuesday, a change that moves disability claims for those diagnoses out of a queue where ordinary applicants commonly wait six to eight months for an initial decision.
The list now covers 314 conditions. For a family holding a new diagnosis and a stack of medical bills, the practical difference is measured in months of income. Claims flagged under the program involve diagnoses that the agency has already determined clearly meet the statutory standard for disability, which allows adjudicators to decide them without the extended evidence gathering that governs an ordinary application.
