What Are Compassionate Allowances In Social Security Disability Claims?

Social Security recognizes that it has an obligation to provide benefits quickly to applicants whose medical conditions are so serious that their conditions obviously meet disability standards.

The Compassionate Allowances (CAL) initiative is a way of quickly identifying diseases and other medical conditions that invariably qualify under the Listing of Impairments based on minimal objective medical information. Compassionate Allowances allow Social Security to target the most obviously disabled individuals for allowances based on objective medical information that it can obtain quickly. Compassionate Allowances is not a separate program from the Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income programs.

CAL conditions are selected using information received at public outreach hearings, comments received from the Social Security and Disability Determination Services communities, counsel of medical and scientific experts, and Social Security’s research with the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Also, Social Security considers which conditions are most likely to meet its current definition of disability.

Over the years, Social Security has held several Compassionate Allowances public outreach hearings. The hearings were on rare diseases, cancers, traumatic brain injury (TBI) and stroke, early-onset Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, schizophrenia, cardiovascular disease and multiple organ transplants and autoimmune diseases.

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Compassionate Allowances Conditions

As a result of the foregoing, Social Security has identified the following list of Compassionate Allowances Conditions:

• 1p36 Deletion Syndrome
• Acute Leukemia
• Adenylosuccinate Lyase Deficiency – Neonatal Form and Type 1 (New)
• Adrenal Cancer – with Distant Metastases or Inoperable, Unresectable or Recurrent
• Adult Heart Transplant Wait List – Status Levels 1-4
• Adult Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
• Adult-Onset Huntington Disease
• Aicardi-Goutieres Syndrome
• Aicardi Syndrome (New)
• Alexander Disease (ALX) – Neonatal and Infantile
• Allan-Herndon-Dudley Syndrome
• Alobar Holoprosencephaly
• Alpers Disease
• Alpha Mannosidosis – Type II and III
• ALS/Parkinsonism Dementia Complex
• Alstrom Syndrome
• Alveolar Soft Part Sarcoma
• Amegakaryocytic Thrombocytopenia
• Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)
• Anaplastic Adrenal Cancer – Adult with Distant Metastases or Inoperable, Unresectable or Recurrent
• Anaplastic Ependymoma
• Angelman Syndrome
• Angioimmunoblastic T-Cell Lymphoma
• Angiosarcoma
• Aortic Atresia
• Aplastic Anemia
• Astrocytoma – Grade III and IV
• Ataxia Telangiectasia
• Atypical Teratoid/Rhabdoid Tumor
• Au-Kline Syndrome
• Bainbridge-Ropers Syndrome
• Baraitser-Winter Syndrome (New)
• Batten Disease
• Beare-Stevenson Cutis Gyrata Syndrome (New)
• Beta Thalassemia Major
• Bilateral Anophthalmia
• Bilateral Optic Atrophy- Infantile
• Bilateral Retinoblastoma
• Bladder Cancer – with Distant Metastases or Inoperable or Unresectable
• Blastic Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cell Neoplasm
• Bohring-Opitz Syndrome (New)
• Breast Cancer – with Distant Metastases or Inoperable or Unresectable
• CACH – Vanishing White Matter Disease – Congenital, Infantile and Early Childhood Onset Forms
• Calciphylaxis
• Carey-Fineman-Ziter Syndrome
• CASK-Related Gene Disorders (New)
• Canavan Disease (CD)
• Carcinoma of Unknown Primary Site
• Cardiac Amyloidosis- AL Type
• Caudal Regression Syndrome – Types III and IV
• CDKL5 Deficiency Disorder
• Cerebro Oculo Facio Skeletal (COFS) Syndrome
• Cerebrotendinous Xanthomatosis
• Charlevoix-Saguenay Spastic Ataxia
• Child Heart Transplant Wait List – Status Levels 1A/1B
• Child Lymphoblastic Lymphoma
• Child Lymphoma
• Child Neuroblastoma – with Distant Metastases or Recurrent
• Cholangiocarcinoma
• Chondrosarcoma – with Multimodal Therapy
• Choroid Plexus Carcinoma
• Chronic Idiopathic Intestinal Pseudo Obstruction
• Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML) – Blast Phase
• CIC-Rearranged Sarcoma
• Coffin-Lowry Syndrome
• Congenital Lymphedema
• Congenital Myotonic Dystrophy
• Congenital Zika Syndrome
• Cornelia de Lange Syndrome – Classic Form
• Corticobasal Degeneration
• Costello Syndrome
• Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) – Adult
• Cri du Chat Syndrome
• Degos Disease – Systemic
• DeSanctis Cacchione Syndrome
• Desmoplastic Mesothelioma
• Desmoplastic Small Round Cell Tumors
• Dravet Syndrome
• Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy – Adult
• Edwards Syndrome (Trisomy 18)
• Eisenmenger Syndrome
• Endometrial Stromal Sarcoma
• Endomyocardial Fibrosis
• Ependymoblastoma (Child Brain Cancer)
• Erdheim Chester Disease
• Esophageal Cancer
• Esthesioneuroblastoma
• Ewing Sarcoma
• Farber’s Disease (FD) – Infantile
• Fatal Familial Insomnia
• Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva
• Fibrolamellar Cancer
• Follicular Dendritic Cell Sarcoma – Metastatic or Recurrent
• FOXG1 Syndrome
• Friedreich’s Ataxia (FRDA)
• Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD), Pick’s Disease -Type A – Adult
• Fryns Syndrome
• Fucosidosis – Type 1
• Fukuyama Congenital Muscular Dystrophy
• Fulminant Giant Cell Myocarditis
• Galactosialidosis – Early and Late Infantile Types
• Gallbladder Cancer
• Gaucher Disease (GD) – Type 2
• Gerstmann-Straussler-Scheinker Disease
• Giant Axonal Neuropathy
• Glioblastoma Multiforme (Brain Cancer)
• Glioma – Grade III and IV
• Glutaric Acidemia – Type II
• GM1 Gangliosidosis – Infantile and Juvenile Forms
• Harlequin Ichthyosis – Child
• Head and Neck Cancers – with Distant Metastasis or Inoperable or Unresectable
• Heart Transplant Graft Failure
• Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation
• Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) – Familial Type
• Hepatoblastoma
• Hepatocellular Carcinoma
• Hepatopulmonary Syndrome
• Hepatorenal Syndrome
• Hepatosplenic T-Cell Lymphoma (New)
• Histiocytic Malignancies
• Histiocytosis Syndromes
• Hoyeraal-Hreidarsson Syndrome
• Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome
• Hydranencephaly
• Hypocomplementemic Urticarial Vasculitis Syndrome
• Hypophosphatasia Perinatal (Lethal) and Infantile Onset Types
• Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome
• I Cell Disease
• Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis
• Infantile Free Sialic Acid Storage Disease
• Infantile Neuroaxonal Dystrophy (INAD)
• Infantile Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinoses
• Inflammatory Breast Cancer (IBC)
• Intracranial Hemangiopericytoma
• Jervell and Lange-Nielsen Syndrome
• Joubert Syndrome
• Junctional Epidermolysis Bullosa – Lethal Type
• Juvenile Onset Huntington Disease
• Kidney Cancer – Inoperable or Unresectable
• Kleefstra Syndrome
• Krabbe Disease (KD) – Infantile
• Kufs Disease – Type A and B
• Lafora Disease (New)
• Large Intestine Cancer – with Distant Metastasis or Inoperable, Unresectable or Recurrent
• Late Infantile Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinoses
• Leber Congenital Amaurosis
• Leigh’s Disease
• Leiomyosarcoma
• Leptomeningeal Carcinomatosis
• Lesch-Nyhan Syndrome (LNS)
• Lewy Body Dementia
• Liposarcoma – Metastatic or Recurrent
• Lissencephaly
• LLMNA-Related Congenital Muscular Dystrophy
• Lowe Syndrome
• Lymphomatoid Granulomatosis – Grade III
• Malignant Brain Stem Gliomas – Childhood
• Malignant Ectomesenchymoma
• Malignant Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor
• Malignant Germ Cell Tumor
• Malignant Migrating Partial Seizures of Infancy (MMPSI) (New)
• Malignant Multiple Sclerosis
• Malignant Renal Rhabdoid Tumor
• Mantle Cell Lymphoma (MCL)
• Maple Syrup Urine Disease
• Marshall-Smith Syndrome
• Mastocytosis – Type IV
• MECP2 Duplication Syndrome
• Medulloblastoma
• Megacystis Microcolon Intestinal Hypoperistalsis Syndrome
• Megalencephaly Capillary Malformation Syndrome
• Menkes Disease – Classic or Infantile Onset Form
• Merkel Cell Carcinoma – with Metastases
• Merosin Deficient Congenital Muscular Dystrophy
• Metachromatic Leukodystrophy (MLD) – Late Infantile
• Metastatic Endometrial Adenocarcinoma
• Microvillus Inclusion Disease – Child
• Mitral Valve Atresia
• Mixed Dementias
• Mowat-Wilson Syndrome
• MPS I, formerly known as Hurler Syndrome
• MPS II, formerly known as Hunter Syndrome
• MPS III, formerly known as Sanfilippo Syndrome
• Mucosal Malignant Melanoma
• Multicentric Castleman Disease
• Multiple System Atrophy
• Myelodysplastic Syndrome with Excess Blasts
• Myoclonic Epilepsy with Ragged Red Fibers Syndrome
• Neonatal Adrenoleukodystrophy
• Neonatal Marfan Syndrome
• Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis
• Neurodegeneration with Brain Iron Accumulation – Types 1 and 2
• NFU-1 Mitochondrial Disease
• Nicolaides-Baraister Syndrome
• Niemann-Pick Disease (NPD) – Type A
• Niemann-Pick Disease-Type C
• Nonketotic Hyperglycinemia
• Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
• NUT Carcinoma
• Obliterative Bronchiolitis
• Ohtahara Syndrome
• Oligodendroglioma Brain Cancer – Grade III
• OPHN1 Syndrome (New)
• Ornithine Transcarbamylase (OTC) Deficiency
• Orthochromatic Leukodystrophy with Pigmented Glia
• Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI) – Type II
• Osteosarcoma, formerly known as Bone Cancer
• Ovarian Cancer – with Distant Metastases or Inoperable or Unresectable
• PACS1 Syndrome
• Pallister-Killian Syndrome
• Pancreatic Cancer
• Paraneoplastic Cerebellar Degeneration
• Paraneoplastic Pemphigus
• Patau Syndrome (Trisomy 13)
• Pearson Syndrome
• Pelizaeus-Merzbacher Disease-Classic Form
• Pelizaeus-Merzbacher Disease-Connatal Form
• Pericardial Mesothelioma
• Peripheral Nerve Cancer – Metastatic or Recurrent
• Peritoneal Mesothelioma
• Peritoneal Mucinous Carcinomatosis
• Perry Syndrome
• Pfeiffer Syndrome – Types II and III
• Phelan-McDermid Syndrome
• Pineoblastoma – Childhood
• Pitt Hopkins Syndrome
• Plasmablastic Lymphoma
• Pleural Mesothelioma
• Pompe Disease – Infantile
• Pontocerebellar Hypoplasia
• Posterior Cortical Atrophy
• Primary Cardiac Sarcoma (New)
• Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma
• Primary Effusion Lymphoma
• Primary Intracranial Malignant Melanoma (New)
• Primary Omental Cancer
• Primary Peritoneal Cancer
• Primary Progressive Aphasia
• Progressive Bulbar Palsy
• Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy
• Progressive Muscular Atrophy
• Progressive Supranuclear Palsy
• Prostate Cancer – Hormone Refractory Disease – or with Visceral Metastases
• Pulmonary Amyloidosis – AL Type
• Pulmonary Atresia
• Pulmonary Kaposi Sarcoma
• Rasmussen Encephalitis
• Refractory Hodgkin Lymphoma
• Renal Amyloidosis – AL Type
• Renal Medullary Carcinoma
• Renpenning Syndrome
• Retinopathy of Prematurity – Stage V, Bilateral
• Rett (RTT) Syndrome
• Revesz Syndrome
• Rhabdomyosarcoma
• Rhizomelic Chondrodysplasia Punctata
• Richter Syndrome
• Roberts Syndrome
• Rubinstein-Taybi Syndrome
• Salivary Cancers
• Sandhoff Disease
• Sarcomatoid Carcinoma of the Lung – Stages II – IV
• Sarcomatoid Mesothelioma
• Schindler Disease – Type 1
• SCN8A Related Epilepsy with Encephalopathy
• Seckel Syndrome
• Secondary Adenocarcinoma of the Brain
• Severe Combined Immunodeficiency – Childhood
• Single Ventricle
• Sinonasal Cancer
• Sjogren-Larsson Syndrome
• Skin Malignant Melanoma with Metastases
• Small Cell Cancer Large Intestine
• Small Cell Cancer of the Female Genital Tract
• Small Cell Lung Cancer
• Small Intestine Cancer – with Distant Metastases or Inoperable, Unresectable or Recurrent
• Smith Lemli Opitz Syndrome
• Snijders Blok-Campeau Syndrome
• Soft Tissue Sarcoma – with Distant Metastases or Recurrent
• Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) – Types 0 and 1
• Spinal Nerve Root Cancer – Metastatic or Recurrent
• Spinocerebellar Ataxia
• Stiff Person Syndrome
• Stomach Cancer – with Distant Metastases or Inoperable, Unresectable or Recurrent
• Subacute Sclerosing Panencephalitis
• Superficial Siderosis of the Central Nervous System
• SYNGAP1 – Related NSID
• Tabes Dorsalis
• Tay Sachs Disease – Infantile Type
• Taybi-Linder Syndrome
• Tetrasomy 18p
• Thanatophoric Dysplasia – Type 1
• Thyroid Cancer
• Thymic Carcinoma
• Transplant Coronary Artery Vasculopathy
• Tricuspid Atresia
• Trisomy 9
• Turnpenny Fry Syndrome
• Ullrich Congenital Muscular Dystrophy
• Ureter Cancer – with Distant Metastases or Inoperable, Unresectable or Recurrent
• Usher Syndrome – Type I
• Uveal Melanoma – with Metastases (New)
• Ventricular Assist Device Recipient – Left, Right, or Biventricular
• Walker Warburg Syndrome
• Warburg Micro Syndrome (New)
• WHO Grade III Meningiomas
• Wolf-Hirschhorn Syndrome
• Wolman Disease
• X-Linked Lymphoproliferative Disease
• X-Linked Myotubular Myopathy
• Xeroderma Pigmentosum
• Young-Onset Alzheimer’s Disease
• Zellweger Syndrome
• Zhu-Tokita-Takenouchi-Kim Syndrome