Fast Track to Social Security Benefits
At a recent Social Security public hearing, the topic of Compassionate Allowances was a major topic of discussion. At the hearing, testimony from various leading experts on schizophrenia discussed possible new methods for identifying and implementing Compassionate Allowances for young adults suffering from the disease.
According to a report on the hearing, schizophrenia is a “devastating disease that affects more than two million Americans—typically those in their teens and twenties.” Oftentimes schizophrenia has Social Security implications because it is a debilitating disease often resulting in unemployment and homelessness. The purpose of the testimony was to identify the severest of the cases and determine how to bring them under the agency’s Compassionate Allowances umbrella.
The Compassionate Allowances initiative began in 2008. Its purpose is to “expedite the processing of disability claims for applicants with medical conditions so severe that their conditions by definition meet Social Security’s standards.” Essentially, the program is a fast track method for getting Social Security Disability benefits to those with the utmost needs in an efficient manner.
According to Michael J. Astrue, Social Security Commissioner, “Our Compassionate Allowances and Quick Disability Determinations processes are making a real difference by ensuring that Americans with devastating disabilities quickly receive the benefits they need.” He went on to state that in 2009, the Social Security Agency fast tracked 150,000 cases through the initiative.
The Social Security Agency determines various conditions and diseases that, according to medical evidence, are so devastating that by their very definition, anyone who suffers from it will qualify for Social Security Benefits. Because of this determination, the individual is fast tracked through the traditional steps and instead is given a benefits award with little to no need for proof. It is likely that schizophrenia will be added to the list.
Michael Monheit is the managing lawyer at Monheit Law, outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He has practiced law since 1989. Michael Monheit was the managing attorney of the law offices of Herbert Monheit — now Silverman and Fodera — a firm... Michael Monheit→