Oct 25, 2018

Commissioner's Message On Compassionate Allowances


From: ^Commissioner Broadcast
Sent: Thursday, October 25, 2018 10:38 AM
Subject: Ten Years of Compassionate Allowances!

A Message To All SSA and DDS Employees 

Subject: Ten Years of Compassionate Allowances!

On October 27th, we will celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the Compassionate Allowances program.  Over the past decade, Compassionate Allowances have helped us identify and fast-track cases for individuals who have diseases and other medical conditions that are most likely to be approved for disability benefits.  To date, over 500,000 people with serious disabilities have been approved through this fast-track, policy-compliant disability process. 

In August, we added five new conditions to the list.  Their inclusion continues our commitment to ensure people with qualifying disabilities quickly receive the benefits they need.  For a complete list of conditions and other useful information, I encourage you to visit our Compassionate Allowances page.

In celebrating 10 years of the Compassionate Allowances program, we also celebrate you.  To each of you, I say ‘thank you’ for your excellence and dedication in making a difference in the lives of those we serve each day.


Nancy A. Berryhill
Acting Commissioner

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

This part of the program works as designed and the claims do process quickly. If we could only waive the 29 months for Medicare for these claims it would be awesome, but for what it is, it works.

Tim said...

I see this to be akin to MLB patting Umpire Angel Hernandez on the back for getting all the "easy" calls right in the recent Red Sox-Yankees playoff game where 3 of his calls at first base were overturned. "Yes, but he got the ones right where the batter was out by 20 feet." The problem is that SSA defends every decision from their ALJs like MLB defended Joe West's "fan interference" call on Jose Altuve's liner into the stands in right field in Houston. West made the call from third base! MLB decided there "wasn't enough evidence to overturn the call." If you go by the letter of the rule and the "spirit" of the rule, this was NOT fan interference. But, MLB his behind "not enough evidence." How often does SSA do this with ALJ decisions? The goal should be getting the call right. The old axiom, the "tie goes to the runner" clearly doesn't apply to SSA, who apparently thinks the standard is overwhelming evidence. Some diseases/disorders can easily meet such a standard. Others, by their nature can not. Should SSA decide cases solely on medical science's ability to identify and its understanding of a disease/disorder? Keep in mind, scientists don't know HOW gravity really works. If it's about how the disorder effects the individual, SSA shouldn't be allowed to dismiss the claimant's testimony and those of witnesses when they are consistent.

Tim said...

Should have been "MLB hid behind... Autocorrect sucks!

Anonymous said...

It should be the only thing the program pays, like when it was started, before we made everything a disability.

Anonymous said...

Compassionate allowances is a great system. These folks are sadly disabled and many will likely die within a short span of time compared to those without the diagnosis.