The Social Security Administration (SSA) implemented a program called the Compassionate Allowance Initiative. This program was designed to help severely disabled individuals avoid the lengthy and frustrating Social Security Disability application and appeals processes that can often drag on for months or years due to the overwhelming backlog of disability applications processed annually by the SSA.
The Compassionate Allowances program contains provisions for disability applications based on a number of severely disabling medical conditions to receive expedited consideration if the claimant meets the criteria outlined in the Compassionate Allowance guidelines. In many cases, this expedited handling allows claimants suffering from a disability covered by the Compassionate Allowances listings to receive Social Security Disability benefits in as little as several weeks.
When the Compassionate Allowances initiative was originally created in 2008, it contained a total of 50 medical condition listings. As of 2012, there are over 200 conditions that now qualify for a compassionate allowance exception.
The 200+ Social Security Compassionate Allowance listings are provided in alphabetical order below. Please click on any individual condition for information on that disability, including important considerations for filing an application for Social Security Disability benefits if you, or someone you know, has been diagnosed with that disease.
Breaking: SSA Expands Their Compassionate Allowances
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P R S T U W Z
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A
- Acute Leukemia
- Adrenal Cancer
- Adult Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
- Adult Onset Huntington Disease
- Alexander Disease (ALX) - Neonatal and Infantile
- Allan-Herndon-Dudley Syndrome
- Alobar Holoprosencephaly
- Alpers Disease
- Alpha Mannosidosis
- ALS/Parkinsonism Dementia Complex
- Alstrom Syndrome
- Alveolar Soft Part Sarcoma
- Amegakaryocytic Thrombocytopenia
- Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) - Lou Gehrig's Disease
- Anaplastic Adrenal Cancer - unresectable, inoperable, or recurrent; or with distant metastases
- Anaplastic Ependymoma
- Angelman Syndrome
- Angioimmunoblastic T-Cell Lymphoma
- Angiosarcoma
- Aortic Atresia
- Aplastic Anemia
- Astrocytoma (Grades III or IV)
- Ataxia Telangiectasia
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B
- Batten Disease
- Beta Thalassemia
- Bilateral Retinoblastoma
- Bladder Cancer - inoperable, unresectable, or with distant metastases
- Blastic Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cell Neoplasm
- Bone Cancer - inoperable, unresectable, or with distant metastases
- Breast Cancer - inoperable, unresectable, or with distant metastases
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C
- Calciphylaxis
- Canavan Disease (CD)
- Carcinoma of Unknown Primary Site
- Cardiac Amyloidosis - AL Type
- Caudal Regression Syndrome (Type III and IV)
- Cerebro Oculo Facio Skeletal (COFS) Syndrome
- Cerebrotendinous Xanthomatosis
- Childhood Malignant Brain Stem Gliomas
- Child Neuroblastoma
- Child non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
- Child T-Cell Lymphoblastic Lymphoma
- Cholangiocarcinoma
- Chondrosarcoma with Multimode Therapy
- CIC-Rearranged Sarcoma
- Coffin-Lowry Syndrome
- Chronic Idiopathic Intestinal Pseudo Obstruction
- Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML) - Blast Phase
- Congenital Lymphedema
- Cornelia de Lange Syndrome-Classic Form
- Corticobasal Degeneration (CBD)
- Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) - Adult
- Cri du Chat Syndrome
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D
- Degos Disease, Systemic
- DeSanctis Cacchione Syndrome
- Desmoplastic Mesothelioma
- Dravet Syndrome
- Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy – Adult
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E
- Early-Onset Alzheimer’s Disease
- Edwards Syndrome (Trisomy 18)
- Eisenmenger Syndrome
- Endometrial Stromal Sarcoma
- Endomyocardial Fibrosis
- Ependymoblastoma (Child Brain Tumor)
- Erdheim Chester Disease
- Esophageal Cancer
- Esthesioneuroblastoma
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F
- Farber's Disease (FD) - Infantile
- Fatal Familial Insomnia
- Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva
- Follicular Dendritic Cell Sarcoma with Metastases
- FOXG1 Syndrome
- Friedreichs Ataxia (FRDA)
- Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD or Picks Disease) - Type A
- Fryns Syndrome
- Fucosidosis - Type 1
- Fukuyama Congenital Muscular Dystrophy
- Fulminant Giant Cell Myocarditis
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G
- Galactosialidosis - Early Infantile Type
- Gallbladder Cancer
- Gaucher Disease (GD) - Type 2
- Glioblastoma Multiforme (Adult Brain Tumor)
- Glioma-Grade III and IV
- Glutaric Acidemia Type II (Neonatal)
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H
- Hallervorden-Spatz Disease
- Head and Neck Cancers - inoperable, unresectable or with distant metastases
- Heart Transplant Graft Failure
- Heart Transplant Wait List(1A and 1B)
- Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) - Familial Type
- Hepatoblastoma
- Hepatopulmonary Syndrome
- Hepatorenal Syndrome
- Histiocytosis
- Hormone-Refractory Prostate Cancer
- Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria
- Hypophosphataisa Perinatal - Lethal Form
- Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome
- Hypocomplementemic Urticarial Vasculitis
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I
- I-Cell Disease
- Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis
- Infantile Bilateral Optic Atrophy
- Infantile Free Sialic Acid Storage Disease
- Infantile Neuroaxonal Dystrophy (INAD)
- Infantile Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinoses
- Inflammatory Breast Cancer (IBC)
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J
- Jervell and Lange-Nielsen Syndrome
- Joubert Syndrome
- Junctional Epidermolysis Bullosa - Lethal Type
- Juvenile Onset Huntington's Disease
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K
- Kidney Cancer - inoperable or unresectable
- Krabbe Disease (KD) - Infantile
- Kufs Disease - Type A and B
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L
- Large Intestine Cancer - inoperable, unresectable, recurrent or with distant metastasis
- Late Infantile Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinoses
- Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD) Recipient
- Leigh’s Disease
- Leiomyosarcoma
- Leptomeningeal Carcinomatosis
- Lesch-Nyhan Syndrome (LNS)
- Lewy Body Dementia (LBD)
- Liposarcoma
- Lissencephaly
- Liver Cancer
- Lowe's Syndrome
- Lymphomatoid Granulomatosis Grade III
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M
- Malignant Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor
- Malignant Germ Cell Tumor
- Malignant Melanoma with Metastases
- Malignant Multiple Sclerosis
- Mantle Cell Lymphoma (MCL)
- Maple Syrup Urine Disease
- Mastocytosis - Type IV
- MECP2 Duplication Syndrome
- Menkes Disease- Classic or Infantile Onset Form
- Merkel Cell Carcinoma with Metastases
- Metastatic Endometrial Adenocarcinoma
- Merosin Deficient Congenital Muscular Dystrophy
- Metachromatic Leukodystrophy (MLD) - Late Infantile
- Medulloblastoma with Metastases
- Mitral Valve Atresia
- Mixed Dementias
- MPS I (formally Hurler Syndrome)
- MPS II (formally Hunter Syndrome)
- MPS III (formally Sanfilippo Syndrome)
- Mucosal Malignant Melanoma
- Multicentric Castleman's Disease
- Multiple System Atrophy
- Myoclonic Epilepsy and Ragged Red Fibers
- Myelodysplastic Syndrome with Excess Blasts
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N
- Neonatal Adrenoleukodystrophy
- Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis
- NFU-1 Mitochondrial Disease
- Niemann-Pick Disease (NPD) - Type A
- Niemann-Pick Disease (NPD) - Type C
- Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer - inoperable, unresectable, recurrent, or with metastases to or beyond the hilar nodes
- Nonketotic Hyperglycinemia (NKH)
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O
- Obliterative Bronchiolitis
- Ornithine Transcarbamylase (OTC) Deficiency
- Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI) - Type II
- Ohtahara Syndrome
- Oligodendroglioma
- Orthochromatic Leukodystrophy with Pigmented Glia
- Ovarian Cancer - inoperable, unresectable, or with distant metastases
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P
- Pallister-Killian Syndrome
- Pancreatic Cancer
- Paraneoplastic Pemphigus
- Paraneoplastic Cerebellar Degeneration
- Patau Syndrome (Trisomy 13)
- Pearson Syndrome
- Pelizaeus Merzbacher Disease - Classic Form
- Pelizaeus Merzbacher Disease - Connatal Form
- Peripheral Nerve Cancer - Metastatic or Recurrent
- Peritoneal Mesothelioma
- Peritoneal Mucinous Carcinomatosis
- Perry Syndrome
- Phelan-McDermid Syndrome
- Pleural Mesothelioma
- Pompe Disease - Infantile
- Posterior Cortical Atrophy
- Primary Cardiac Amyloidosis
- Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma
- Primary Effusion Lymphoma
- Primary Omental Cancer
- Primary Peritoneal Cancer
- Primary Progressive Aphasia
- Progressive Bulbar Palsy
- Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy
- Progressive Supranuclear Palsy
- Pulmonary Artesia
- Pulmonary Kaposi Sarcoma
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R
- Refractory Hodgkin Lymphoma
- Renal Amyloidosis – AL Type
- Rett Syndrome (RTT)
- Retinopathy of Prematurity (Stage V)
- Revesz Syndrome
- Richter's Syndrome
- Rhabdomyosarcoma
- Rhizomelic Chondrodysplasia Punctata
- Roberts Syndrome
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S
- Salivary Tumors
- Sandhoff Disease
- Sarcomatoid Mesothelioma
- Sacromatoid Carcinoma of the Lung
- Schindler Disease Type 1
- Seckel Syndrome
- Secondary Adenocarcinoma of the Brain
- Single Ventricle Defects
- Sinonasal Cancer
- Sjorgen-Larsson Syndrome
- Skin Malignant Melanoma with Metastases
- Small Cell Cancer (of the Large Intestine, Ovary, Prostate, or Uterus)
- 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-Optiz Syndrome
- Soft Tissue Sarcoma
- Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) - Types 0 And 1
- Spinal Nerve Root Cancer - Metastatic or Recurrent
- Spinocerebellar Ataxia
- Stiff Person Syndrome
- Stomach Cancer - inoperable, unresectable, recurrent or with distant metastases
- Subacute Sclerosis Panencephalitis
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T
- Tabes Dorsalis
- Tay Sachs Disease - Infantile Type
- Thanatophoric Dysplasia, Type 1
- Thyroid Cancer
- Transplant Coronary Artery Vasculopathy
- Tricuspid Artesia
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U
- Ullrich Congenital Muscular Dystrophy
- Ureter Cancer - inoperable, unresectable, recurrent or with distant metastases
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W
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X
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Z
Back to topAdditional Resources
- Liver Disease and Social Security Disability
- What Conditions Automatically Qualify for Disability?
- What Does COLA Mean?
