Social Security has added the following new medical conditions to its Compassionate Allowance list:
- Fibrolamellar Cancer
- Megacystis Microcolon Intestinal Hypoperistalsis Syndrome
- Megalencephaly-Capillary Malformation Syndrome
- Superficial Siderosis of the Central Nervous System
- Tetrasomy 18p
These are all rare disorders. It's rare for any compassionate disorder condition to show up in a disability claim. I've yet to see one.
It always seems like Social Security adds to the compassionate allowance list when they've got a Congressional hearing coming up and they want to show how, uh, "compassionate" they are. I don't know of an upcoming Congressional hearing, however.
ReplyDeleteThe reason you don't see these cases is that they are quickly allowed at the initial level and don't need to appeal.
7.5% of cases are Quick Disability Determination (QDD) or CAL. That's not peanuts.
ReplyDeleteYeah. Those are the cases that don't need lawyers or ALJs. Cases that even DDS can't mess up.
ReplyDeleteWhy would anyone with a CAL or QDD need to hire an attorney? That may be the reason you don't see them.
ReplyDeleteAccording to the SSA website, over 500,000 claims have been allowed via the CAL process. That's a lot more than I would have thought.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.ssa.gov/news/press/releases/2018/#8-2018-1
It may not be peanuts, but it is PR. All of these cases were allowed prior to the implementation of QDD and CAL. Not only that, but SSA's data showed that they were allowed very quickly. The case processing time varies significantly for each regulation basis code. The allowances which "meet" or "equal" the listings have always had a much lower processing time than other types of allowances and all denials.
ReplyDeleteHowever, QDD and CAL do disadvantage other applicants. The DDSs, for example, spend extra labor on QDD and CAL cases, for example, by calling medical sources instead of writing to them. This necessarily means less labor devoted to other cases.
I have done several CAL applications as a courtesy to the families. An app with the diagnosis record from the doctor is all you need. Fastest was 72 hours but most take 5 business days.
ReplyDeleteA number of the rare genetic or metabolic disorders kill or severely impair those individuals as infants; likely non-medical factors mean fewer families could get SSI until the child is age 18 and for many that's not in the cards.
ReplyDeleteShould be a CAL only program with instant Medicare and get rid of the rest.
ReplyDelete