Receiving a diagnosis for a severe or terminal illness can be emotional, devastating, confusing and life altering. Residents in Florida and elsewhere are shocked by the news because they never thought they would be the one to suffer such a difficult and serious situation. Many questions invade a person’s mind following such a diagnosing, most of them related to the possible medical treatments they might endure and how this process could impact their health and longevity of life.
Social Security disability benefits are a known option for those suffering disabling conditions and illnesses. These benefits are often used to address the cost of medical care and the cost of living because the disabled individual can no longer work or make a decent living. But even if an applicant is approved for these benefits, the process is often lengthy. This means that applicants do not receive any form of benefit for months and eve years after filing their application. Because of that, a certain program was designed to help those suffering severe and terminal illnesses, requiring benefits much sooner.
What is the Compassionate Allowance program? It is a way for the SSA to identify diseases and other medical conditions that are so severe that they will meet the disability standards set by the SSA. This program lists the impairments that qualify an applicant, allowing for the application process to be streamlined. The conditions listed for this program are based on selected information received by public outreach hearings. Thus, those suffering from rare diseases, cancer, a traumatic brain injury, Alzheimer’s, schizophrenia, cardiovascular disease and autoimmune diseases are likely candidates for this program.
If you are suffering a severe illness and time is of the essence, it is important to understand whether the Compassionate Allowance program is for you. It can become very imperative to receive SSD benefits, thus, applicants should understand all their rights and options.
Source: Ssa.gov, “Compassionate Allowances,” accessed June 17, 2017
