Social Security just expanded its fast-track disability program, adding 14 serious medical conditions to the Compassionate Allowances list. The change matters because families dealing with devastating or extremely rare diagnoses often cannot afford to wait around while paperwork moves from one desk to another.
The new additions include rare genetic disorders, serious cancers, and severe neurological conditions, and they bring the Compassionate Allowances list to a whopping 314 conditions. The program does not create a new disability benefit, and it does not eliminate the need to apply, but it can help qualifying claims move through the disability determination process much faster.
