Social Security's New Quick Disability Determination Process Updated April 5, 2013

Begun in New England as an attempt by Social Security to expedite the consideration of Social Security disability claims that meet certain predictive criteria, its Quick Disability Determination Process has been expanded on a national basis.

Social Security's adoption of an electronic claims filing system has made the implementation of this initiative possible.

The electronic claims filing system identifies certain characteristics of a claim that make it highly probable that the claimant will ultimately be found to be disabled under Social Security's Listing of Impairments. In that way, the claim file can be flagged for a quick determination of the claimant's entitlement to disability benefits without the long wait that most claimants endure at the present.

In the New England test model it took on average only twenty-one days for a resolution of claims that fit within the Quick Disability Determination criteria. However, only 3 percent of the total number of cases fit within those criteria. And the New England model does not incorporate nearly as many diseases as would be desirable.

Social Security has now extended the Quick Disability Determination Process nationwide.

In addition, Social Security has issued a revised listing of 200 impairments, rare diseases and cancers, called "Compassionate Allowances." These conditions are so severe that they obviously meet Social Security's Listing of Impairments and, if medical evidence of same were introduced at the hearing level, would permit a finding of disability. Thus, Social Security has deemed these cases to be worthy of rapid adjudication. Social Security continues to seek out other diseases and cancers that it may include under this special program.

The listing of diseases and cancers that qualify as Compassionate Allowances is set forth below:

COMPASSIONATE ALLOWANCES

1. Acute Leukemia
2. Adrenal Cancer - with distant metastases or inoperable, unresectable or recurrent
3. Adult Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
4. Adult Onset Huntington Disease
5. Aicardi-Goutieres Syndrome
6. Alexander Disease (ALX) - Neonatal and Infantile
7. Allan-Herndon-Dudley Syndrome
8. Alobar Holoprosencephaly
9. Alpers Disease
10. Alpha Mannosidosis - Type II and III
11. Alstrom Syndrome
12. Alveolar Soft Part Sarcoma
13. Amegakaryocytic Thrombocytopenia
14. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)
15. Anaplastic Adrenal Cancer - with distant metastases or inoperable, unresectable or recurrent
16. Angelman Syndrome
17. Aortic Atresia
18. Aplastic Anemia
19. Astrocytoma - Grade III and IV
20. Ataxia Telangiectasia
21. Batten Disease
22. Beta Thalassemia Major
23. Bilateral Optic Atrophy- Infantile
24. Bilateral Retinoblastoma
25. Bladder Cancer - with distant metastases or inoperable or unresectable
26. Breast Cancer - with distant metastases or inoperable or unresectable
27. Canavan Disease (CD)
28. Carcinoma of Unknown Primary Site
29. Caudal Regression Syndrome - Types III and IV
30. Cerebro Oculo Facio Skeletal (COFS) Syndrome
31. Cerebrotendinous Xanthomatosis
32. Child Neuroblastoma - with distant metastases or recurrent
33. Child Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma - recurrent
34. Child T-Cell Lymphoblastic Lymphoma
35. Chondrosarcoma - with multimodal therapy
36. Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML) - Blast Phase
37. Congenital Lymphedema
38. Cornelia de Lange Syndrome
39. Corticobasal Degeneration
40. Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) – Adult
41. Cri du Chat Syndrome
42. Degos Disease - Systemic
43. DeSanctis Cacchione Syndrome
44. Dravet Syndrome
45. Early-Onset Alzheimer's Disease
46. Edwards Syndrome (Trisomy 18)
47. Eisenmenger Syndrome
48. Endometrial Stromal Sarcoma
49. Endomyocardial Fibrosis
50. Ependymoblastoma (Child Brain Tumor)
51. Erdheim Chester Disease
52. Esophageal Cancer
53. Ewing Sarcoma
54. Farber's Disease (FD) – Infantile
55. Fatal Familial Insomnia
56. Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva
57. Follicular Dendritic Cell Sarcoma - metastatic or recurrent
58. Friedreichs Ataxia (FRDA)
59. Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD), Picks Disease -Type A – Adult
60. Fryns Syndrome
61. Fucosidosis - Type 1
62. Fukuyama Congenital Muscular Dystrophy
63. Fulminant Giant Cell Myocarditis
64. Galactosialidosis - Early and Late Infantile Types
65. Gallbladder Cancer
66. Gaucher Disease (GD) - Type 2
67. Glioblastoma Multiforme (Adult Brain Tumor)
68. Glioma Grade III and IV
69. Glutaric Acidemia - Type II
70. Head and Neck Cancers - with distant metastasis or inoperable or unresectable
71. Heart Transplant Graft Failure
72. Heart Transplant Wait List - 1A/1B
73. Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) - Familial Type
74. Hepatoblastoma
75. Hepatopulmonary Syndrome
76. Hepatorenal Syndrome
77. Histiocytosis Syndromes
78. Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome
79. Hydranencephaly
80. Hypocomplementemic Urticarial Vasculitis Syndrome
81. Hypophosphatasia Perinatal (Lethal) and Infantile Onset Types
82. Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome
83. I Cell Disease
84. Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis
85. Infantile Free Sialic Acid Storage Disease
86. Infantile Neuroaxonal Dystrophy (INAD)
87. Infantile Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinoses
88. Inflammatory Breast Cancer (IBC)
89. Jervell and Lange-Nielsen Syndrome
90. Junctional Epidermolysis Bullosa - Lethal Type
91. Juvenile Onset Huntington Disease
92. Kidney Cancer - inoperable or unresectable
93. Krabbe Disease (KD) – Infantile
94. Kufs Disease - Type A and B
95. Large Intestine Cancer - with distant metastasis or inoperable, unresectable or recurrent
96. Late Infantile Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinoses
97. Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD) Recipient
98. Leigh's Disease
99. Leiomyosarcoma
100. Lesch-Nyhan Syndrome (LNS)
101. Lewy Body Dementia
102. Lissencephaly
103. Liver Cancer
104. Lowe Syndrome
105. Lymphomatoid Granulomatosis - Grade III
106. Malignant Brain Stem Gliomas – Childhood
107. Malignant Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor
108. Malignant Germ Cell Tumor
109. Malignant Melanoma - with metastases
110. Malignant Multiple Sclerosis
111. Mantle Cell Lymphoma (MCL)
112. Maple Syrup Urine Disease
113. Mastocytosis - Type IV
114. MECP2 Duplication Syndrome
115. Medulloblastoma - with metastases
116. Menkes Disease - Classic or Infantile Onset Form
117. Merkel Cell Carcinoma - with metastases
118. Merosin Deficient Congenital Muscular Dystrophy
119. Metachromatic Leukodystrophy (MLD) - Late Infantile
120. Mitral Valve Atresia
121. Mixed Dementias
122. MPS I, formerly known as Hurler Syndrome
123. MPS II, formerly known as Hunter Syndrome
124. MPS III, formerly known as Sanfilippo Syndrome
125. Mucosal Malignant Melanoma
126. Multicentric Castleman Disease
127. Multiple System Atrophy
128. Myoclonic Epilepsy with Ragged Red Fibers Syndrome
129. Neonatal Adrenoleukodystrophy
130. Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis
131. Neurodegeneration with Brain Iron Accumulation - Types 1 and 2
132. NFU-1 Mitochondrial Disease
133. Niemann-Pick Disease (NPD) - Type A
134. Niemann-Pick Disease-Type C
135. Nonketotic Hyperglycinemia
136. Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer - with metastases to or beyond the hilar nodes or inoperable, unresectable or recurrent
137. Obliterative Bronchiolitis
138. Ohtahara Syndrome
139. Ornithine Transcarbamylase (OTC) Deficiency
140. Orthochromatic Leukodystrophy with Pigmented Glia
141. Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI) - Type II
142. Osteosarcoma, formerly known as Bone Cancer - with distant metastases or inoperable or unresectable
143. Ovarian Cancer – with distant metastases or inoperable or unresectable
144. Pancreatic Cancer
145. Paraneoplastic Pemphigus
146. Patau Syndrome (Trisomy 13)
147. Pearson Syndrome
148. Pelizaeus-Merzbacher Disease-Classic Form
149. Pelizaeus-Merzbacher Disease-Connatal Form
150. Peripheral Nerve Cancer - metastatic or recurrent
151. Peritoneal Mesothelioma
152. Peritoneal Mucinous Carcinomatosis
153. Perry Syndrome
154. Phelan-McDermid Syndrome
155. Pleural Mesothelioma
156. Pompe Disease – Infantile
157. Primary Cardiac Amyloidosis
158. Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma
159. Primary Effusion Lymphoma
160. Primary Progressive Aphasia
161. Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy
162. Progressive Supranuclear Palsy
163. Pulmonary Atresia
164. Pulmonary Kaposi Sarcoma
165. Retinopathy of Prematurity - Stage V
166. Rett (RTT) Syndrome
167. Rhabdomyosarcoma
168. Rhizomelic Chondrodysplasia Punctata
169. Roberts Syndrome
170. Salivary Tumors
171. Sandhoff Disease
172. Schindler Disease - Type 1
173. Severe Combined Immunodeficiency - Childhood
174. Single Ventricle
175. Sinonasal Cancer
176. Small Cell Cancer (of the Large Intestine, Ovary, Prostate, or Uterus)
177. Small Cell Lung Cancer
178. Small Intestine Cancer - with distant metastases or inoperable, unresectable or recurrent
179. Smith Lemli Opitz Syndrome
180. Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) - Types 0 and 1
181. Spinal Nerve Root Cancer-metastatic or recurrent
182. Spinocerebellar Ataxia
183. Stiff Person Syndrome
184. Stomach Cancer - with distant metastases or inoperable, unresectable or recurrent
185. Subacute Sclerosing Panencephalitis
186. Tabes Dorsalis
187. Tay Sachs Disease - Infantile Type
188. Thanatophoric Dysplasia - Type 1
189. The ALS/Parkinsonism Dementia Complex
190. Thyroid Cancer
191. Transplant Coronary Artery Vasculopathy
192. Tricuspid Atresia
193. Ullrich Congenital Muscular Dystrophy
194. Ureter Cancer - with distant metastases or inoperable, unresectable or recurrent
195. Usher Syndrome - Type I
196. Walker Warburg Syndrome
197. Wolf-Hirschhorn Syndrome
198. Wolman Disease
199. Xeroderma Pigmentosum
200. Zellweger Syndrome