On February 11, the Social Security Administration announced an addition of 38 new conditions to its list of conditions for the Compassionate Allowance (CA) initiative, including early onset Alzheimer's.
The initiative makes it possible for SSA to expedite favorable disability decisions for people who apply for disability benefits based on documented diagnosis of listed disabling conditions. The initiative not only assists those whose applications are quickly processed, but also assists those whose applications need more time and attention from SSA adjudicators because staff time is freed up to address the applications which need more time.
For a copy of the press release and a list of the 38 new conditions, see:
http://www.ssa.gov/pressoffice/pr/cal021110-pr.html
16 comments:
I think that the Social Security Administration adding 38 new conditions to its list of conditions for the Compassionate Allowance Initiative is a great step towards assisting people with mental disabilities. Considering that many people who have mental disabilities are ignored or turned away when they have attempted to apply for such benefits is definitely a positive and uplifting step, especially for those that are unable to work. It also goes to show that people with mental disorders are now being taken into consideration when before they were just ignored and thought of as crazy lunatics placed into asylums. February 11, 2010 was an important day in history with respect to people with mental disabilities. Now they can rest assured that they will be able to get benefits and hopefully be more self sufficient because of the new implementation. For once the Social Security Administration needs to be praised for their great efforts on assisting people with disabilities!
Amy G.
It is comforting to hear when the government responds to it's many communities (e.g. persons of disability) in a positive and helpful way. Through the addition of new conditions to the SSA Compassionate Allowance Initiative, persons of disability will now be assisted and heard much more quickly and their needs will be responded to as opposed to just sitting there on a list of "things to do." Life hands us circumstances that include both happiness and hardship, and it is the duty of every person to help those in need. I believe that through the improvement of the SSA Compassionate Initiative, this community who has had a harder time getting through the simple things that those who are healthy take for granted, can now be assured that they are being taken care of and that their needs are not only a priority but will be met. Such things such as benefits, health care, and research are among the many things on the minds of persons with disability as well as the family and friends of those with disabilities. It allows changes to occur such as rehabilitation, new studies, assistive technology, and a new frame of mind. These new additions give peace of mind as well as hope to those affected by disabling circumstances. It is a step forward in humanity and in bringing awareness to the need of lending a helping hand to those that need one. It gives me happiness knowing that our government is looking out for the best of all communities. Providing opportunity and time to persons of disability can help them in all facets of their life. It starts somewhere rather than nowhere.
I really think it is amazing that 38 new conditions were added to the list of compassionate allowances for social security assistance. I also find it astonishing that is has taken until now to place these life altering conditions on the compassionate allowance list. As I read through the 38 newly added conditions I can’t help but to think of the difficulty that some of the people that have endured these illnesses have had to live with on a daily basis. To some degree I even wonder what else has not been added to the social security coverage plans. It is a truly sobering reminder that progress in this country, while great up to this point, clearly also has a long way to go. On a more positive I can only imagine the sense of relief that those benefiting from theses added condition surely must feel having this enormously unfair burden to some degree lifted from them.
-sukania mendez
Is a desperately need addition and a step towards meeting current demands. So many afflicted individuals are forced to wait unnecessarily. If I understood the article it also gave them a priority over other common claims. I don’t want to insinuate that they hold a lesser value but I think these 38 conditions along with the original 50 are justifiably prioritized. Hopefully they will now be able to continue required treatment or received the medication that will make their lives easier. The SSA building reminds me of an Emergency room. I had an unbelievable experience in which I cannot willingly praise the nurses or staff, who interview the incoming patients. For example, the posted sign stating if you are having chest or abdominal pain to report it immediately. The problem I had was that once reported I still have to wait a couple of hours before I was seen and that was because I made an issue of it and a doctor heard me.
The time I went to the SSA to seek assistance, I was meet with the same carelessness of the front staff. They view everyone the same, failing to distinguish the severity of claims. In my opinion, they seem to view clients as an interruption to their goal of putting in a day’s work. I hope these new conditions will expedite the processing of claims for those qualifying individuals. If you look through them you will see the severity of their conditions. These individuals shouldn’t be at the mercy of the exaggerated red tape the SSA always blamed for the delays or denials. I will shake the hand and pat the backs of all individuals involved with the requesting, pushing and getting these new conditions passed and implemented.
A. Lazo
The process of receiving disability services is a long and tedious process that commonly puts a strain on an individual's life and the life of their families. The strain is increased when the person diagnosed with a disorder is a child. Parents struggle to keep afloat financially as they race to get medical treatment and assistance for accumulating bills. As I researched each individual disorder placed on the list, i realized how valuable life is and how individuals with disabilities need immediate assistance. Most of the diseases placed on the list for speedy approval of assistance and benefits occur in children and are so severe they require immediate attention. I cannot imagine having to wait one to two months just to be able to seek medical attention or aid. Most of these diseases are fatal and debilitating. Although 38 were added, I am sure the list is too small compared to the number of conditions and diseases that are rare and uncommon. I would hope that all people who need assistance could obtain it in a timely manner because time is of the essence when there is a life at stake. It is important that the community be informed of these disorders and conditions because there is a growing need. I was able to see some of the parent's testimonials and the need is great. I am glad the government has provided some help.
I think it is an awesome thing that the government decided to add 38 new conditions. There is a lot of people out there with disabilities who need help. I cannot even imagine how it feels to get rejected by the government when you really need the help. It is very harsh to get turned away from Social Security Administration. It is crazy how some people who don’t really need the help qualify and take advantage of it. We should take it into consideration that there is people with disabilities who really need it. It brings so many smiles in our world today because of one decision the government has decided to do. Sometimes we think life isn’t fair, which it isn’t. We should just think that some people have it worst out there and we should be happy where we are right now. The Social Security Administration made a good choice.
Jennifer Valerio
Initiatives like this should happen more often. It makes me happy to hear that a community so forgotten like the mental disability community are getting more resources, services, and attention. Sukania, I absolutely agree with you. I just like you find it astonishing that it has taken this long for people with mental disabilities receive any form of governmental assistance. It will definately become a sense of joy and relief for people with disabilities and their families to finally have that "extra" help. This only demonstrates there still is a long way to go in regards to assistance to people with disbilities.
A.Huerta
I believe this is a good issue adding 38 more new conditions to the SSA for people with disabilities. A lot of people who need the help automatically apply and will not get a response back until months later. This is a huge benefit that will help improve people’s life with any type of disability. If these people get help automatically by the Social Security Administration it will be a great benefit not only for the person with the disability but for the family as well. It is not fair that before they would not help people with rare diseases or rare disability’s because those are the ones that are being affected the most. I think all people with any type of disability or condition should get the help they need automatically. Thanks to adding the new conditions it will help a lot of other people out there. I bet it brought a lot of smiles out there.
Jennifer Valerio
By adding the additional 38 new conditions for the Compassionate Allowance initiative is a positive step toward those people with a disability including Alzheimer. The process of their application will benefits more people in getting an answer soon than before. Everybody has a different issue or case but by speeding up the results will benefit those in the waiting list to receive benefits corresponding to their need sooner. Commissioner Astrue has done a terrific job in adding additional conditions and is still looking to add some more in the near future. Knowing that people the word of "disability" ranges will allow people to been seen and receiving attention needed.
rIn my opinion I think that it is awesome that the SSA has approved those disabilities as well because there are many people who are suffering due to no money for their diseases which is sad. That reminds me of my dad, when he was filling for help they denied him like three times! We had to have help from a man who was well informed of how to file the right way and get an appointment with a judge. After long forms again and again my father was finally approved even though, he has a condition that has been approved a long time ago. If my father suffer that much I can feel the impotence that the many persons that have a disability felt not to be helped and have a disability that causes that person not to be able to work and not have money to pay for medication. The good thing is that today SSA can now help many other persons with a disability feel better and have a greater chance of getting assistance.
Although long overdue, I think the addition of the 38 new diseases and disabilities to the Compassionate Allowance Initative is a movement in a positive direction. This recognition of these 38 diseases and disabilities can open the door to the recognition of other disabilities that are unrecognized today. I'm sure that the people who live with these disabilities are grateful for the help they will receive. It will also benefit them to have their applications processed more quickly as often times these government agencies are bombarded with applications and the process can take a long time. I hope this leads to more positive changes for people with disabilities hoping to gain benefits from the Social Security Administration.
I think that SSA adding these 38 disbailities is an incredible stride in the right direction for many individuals who have been diagnosed with these diabilities. It overall makes the quality of life less stressful and the unmet ecoomic needs will no longer become such a great barrier. THIS IS HUGE, and it will impact so many lives!!!
I must admit, I was unaware of the term “Compassionate Allowance.” However, after researching this topic through the SSA website, I am now informed that the Compassionate Allowance list is comprised of medical conditions and diseases that will be more quickly identified by the SSA. As a result, applicants will be able to qualify for benefits more quickly.
The 38 newly added Compassionate Allowances were the result of five public outreach hearings held throughout 2007 and 2009. The public outreach hearings focused on schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s disease, brain injuries and stroke, cancers and rare diseases.
I am also very impressed that the public hearing transcripts and videos of the testimonies are also available online. I watched a video of Noah King, who has schizoaffective disorder, give his testimony on the two year difficult process of applying for benefits. After watching several other testimonies, I am more aware that SSA not only needs to speed up the process of approving claims but they also need to streamline more of their work imitative services.
B. Ramirez
Adding 38 new conditions to its list of conditions for the Compassionate Allowance Initiative is a wonder idea because there are many people that apply that need the help and are not able too because they are turned down for some reason. This will be able to look at their case and make a better decision before denying anyone. There are people that cannot work because of their severity of their disability and they get turned down. Some get turned down because they don’t show any mental illness but they don’t consider that it can be more physical pain and not be able to work.
Nora
I think that the Social Security Administration adding 38 new conditions to its list of conditions for the Compassionate Allowance Initiative is a great step towards assisting people with mental disabilities. Considering that many people who have mental disabilities are ignored or turned away when they have attempted to apply for such benefits is definitely a positive and uplifting step, especially for those that are unable to work. It also goes to show that people with mental disorders are now being taken into consideration when before they were just ignored and thought of as crazy lunatics placed into asylums. February 11, 2010 was an important day in history with respect to people with mental disabilities. Now they can rest assured that they will be able to get benefits and hopefully be more self sufficient because of the new implementation. For once the Social Security Administration needs to be praised for their great efforts on assisting people with disabilities!
Tanya D.
This is a great start towards helping people with mental disabilities. I think that the Social Security Administration adding 38 new conditions to their list is going to change how things are managed. I can only hope it’s going to make things run more smoothly and a lot faster. Especially because many PWD are always turned away or ignored when they try to apply for benefits. I can only imagine how frustrating it can be for them every time they try to apply for benefits. It just goes to show that PWD are being taken more seriously and other people are starting to stand up for them. Like I said before this is a great start but there is always more work to be done!
Tanya D.
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