Compassion

Social Security’s COMPASIONATE ALLOWENCES INITIATIVE

This information was sent to me in a number of cancer and health related newsletters. I combined them and did research of my own to pass on to my readers.
According to the Social Security Administration, Social Security has implemented a Compassionate Allowances initiative to expedite the process of disabilities claims for medical conditions so severe that their conditions obviously meet Social Security standards. About half of the initial list of covered conditions are cancers: acute leukemia, CML (blast phase), stage 3 or 4 astrocytoma, pediatric brain, esophageal, gallbladder, gleoblastoma multiforme, inflammatory breast, liver, mantle cell lymphoma, pancreatic, mesotheloma, salivary, and small cell (of the lung, colon, ovary, prostate, uterus) cancers. Also included are metastic, inorperable or recurrent cases of breast, adreanal, bladder, bone, head and neck, kidney, colon,nonsmall cell lung, ovarian, small intestine, stomach and ureter cancer. Compassion Allowances is the second piece of the agency’s two-track, fast-track system for certain disability claims. Once it and the agency’s Quick Disability Determination process are combined and fully implemented cases for as many as 250, 000 people will be decided in an average of six to eight days.
To read more about what is going on with Compassionate Allowances go to
http://www.socialsecurity.gov/compassionateallowances/ and the Press Releases at
http://www.ssa.gov/pressoffice/pr/compassionate-allowances-1008-pr.htm or
Mark Lassiter, Press Officer press.office@ssa.gov 410-965-8904