The United States Social Security Administration (SSA) announced on August 11 that it has updated its Compassionate Allowances (CAL) severe disability list to include 13 new medical conditions, allowing individuals with these conditions to access disability benefits more quickly.
When an applicant’s condition is listed on this roster, the SSA flags the application for expedited review. In some cases, medical records can be obtained electronically, further reducing processing times.
The newly added medical conditions to the CAL list include:
“After adding these 13 conditions to the Compassionate Allowances list, we can help more diagnosed individuals quickly get the support they need,” said SSA Commissioner Frank J. Bisignano.
Bisignano noted that these updates are part of a broader commitment to make the disability determination process more responsive and improve disability programs.
According to an article published by the LaPorte Law Firm, a firm specializing in social security disability law, in August 2024, individuals applying for disability benefits under CAL can receive a decision within weeks rather than months or even years.
With the inclusion of these 13 conditions, CAL now encompasses a total of 300 disabilities, as stated by the SSA in its announcement.
Since the establishment of CAL in 2008, over 1.1 million Americans with severe disabilities have been approved through this expedited pathway, the SSA reported.
The SSA assesses the rules used for evaluating CAL conditions in the same manner as for the Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income programs.
When determining which conditions to add to the CAL list, factors considered by the SSA include public input, recommendations from medical experts, and research from the National Institutes of Health.
In its August 11 statement, the SSA mentioned that it utilizes its Health Information Technology (Health IT) project to securely access electronic medical records when reviewing CAL applications.
Health Information Technology enables the SSA to obtain medical records directly from healthcare providers through electronic data exchange. This year, on March 27, the agency urged healthcare providers to join the Health Information Technology project to enhance its disability review process.
Recent measures have been taken by the SSA to improve its handling of disability applications.
On July 23, the SSA announced that it had reduced the backlog of initial disability applications to 940,000, a 25% decrease from over 1.2 million applications the previous year.
The average processing time for initial disability applications is now 5 days faster than during Bisignano’s tenure, according to the agency. Bisignano was confirmed as the 18th Commissioner of the SSA by the Senate in early May.
In its July 23 announcement, the SSA stated that it had made “significant strides” in customer service.
“The agency handled nearly 1.3 million calls on its national 800 number last week, a 70% increase over the same period in the previous fiscal year, while reducing the average wait time to 6 minutes.”
Meanwhile, the SSA has faced criticism from Democratic lawmakers. On June 24, some Senate Democrats wrote to Bisignano questioning the agency’s decision to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) programs into its phone systems.
“These AI programs, implemented without much consultation with Congress, advocates, or other key stakeholders, appear to have been rushed into deployment and demonstrate a concerning pattern. If this trend continues, it will severely hinder Americans’ ability to access their Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits,” the letter expressed.
For instance, the letter referenced a report from “Nextgov/FCW” stating that an AI anti-fraud algorithm implemented in April this year for verifying welfare applicants’ identities resulted in a 25% decrease in processing speed.
The original article, titled “Social Security Updates 13 New Medical Conditions for Faster Benefits Processing,” was published on the English version of the Epoch Times website.