A quick search of the web will reveal that one of the bigger problems that disabled Americans face with their quests for disability benefits is the process itself. Most applicants can expect to spend over a year with their applications for disability benefits even if the Social Security Administration (“SSA”) ultimately awards them benefits. The SSA even uses a code – DXDI – for when applicants pass away while their disability application is pending.
The process can be long, and the SSA continues to make efforts in recent years to speed it up, but there are several programs that may help you get through the disability benefits process quicker than other applicants. This week we will discuss how several of these programs work.
Compassionate Allowances
This program, which goes by the acronym “CAL,” involves a list of medical conditions that the SSA recognizes to be so severe that applicants with those conditions can qualify for benefits with a minimal amount of medical information. The CAL list of conditions is available on the SSA’s website and includes conditions like autoimmune diseases, early onset Alzheimer’s, several forms of cancer, and other rare diseases. More than 60,000 qualify for disability benefits through CAL each year.
Periodically the SSA seeks input from experts and the public and adds conditions to the list. The list originally had 50 conditions and has now expanded to include 165. Just last month, the SSA added another condition to the list – Adult Huntington’s Disease, a neurological condition that affects almost 30,000 in the US.
On Wednesday and Friday, we will provide details on other disability benefits programs that may help you get SSDI benefits in a matter of weeks or months rather than years.
Have you recently suffered an injury that keeps you from getting back to work? Fill out a form on our website to speak with one of our Tulsa OK Social Security disability lawyers.
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