New Conditions Added to the Compassionate Allowance List

The Social Security Administration (SSA) has a compassionate allowance program.  This program is designed to provide an expedited case processing for individuals who file for Social Security Disability benefits and who are diagnosed with a medical impairment that qualifies for a compassionate allowance.  SSA has compiled a list of medical conditions[1] that are considered severe enough that a determination must be expedited.  In most cases, a diagnosis of a condition on this list results in an award of benefits.

On 08/20/2018, SSA added five medical conditions to the compassionate allowance list.[2]  These conditions are Fibrolamellar Cancer, Megacystis Microcolon Intestinal Hypoperistalsis Syndrome, Megalencephaly-Capillary Malformation Syndrome, Superficial Siderosis of the Central Nervous System, and Tetrasomy 18p.

While many of the conditions on the compassionate allowance list are rather rare, they are extremely serious.  If you are diagnosed with a condition on this list, and you wish to file for Social Security Disability benefits, it is important that you clearly indicate your diagnosis on your application so that you are given the expedited processing of your claim that you deserve.

For the complete list of conditions that qualify for a compassionate allowance, click the link below.

https://www.ssa.gov/compassionateallowances/conditions.htm

[1] https://www.ssa.gov/compassionateallowances/conditions.htm

[2] https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/reference.nsf/links/08172018013010PM

By: Devon Brady of Premier Disability Services, LLC^®

Attorney Advisor Program Made Permanent

On August 15, 2018, the Social Security Administration (SSA) published a notice in the Federal Register that it is making the attorney advisor program permanent. As the notice says “The attorney advisor initiative permits some attorney advisors to develop claims, including holding prehearing conferences, and, in cases in which the documentary record clearly establishes that a fully favorable decision is warranted, issue fully favorable decisions before a hearing is conducted.” The SSA expects that by making the attorney advisor program permanent, it will be able to continue to reduce the number of pending claims at the hearing level of the administrative review process and provide more timely service to claimants.

Under the attorney advisor program, attorney advisors conduct certain prehearing proceedings and, when the record clearly establishes that a fully favorable decision is warranted, may issue a fully favorable decision before an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) holds a hearing. Thus, the attorney advisor program allows the SSA to issue fully favorable decisions more quickly in appropriate cases, which, in turn, allows claimants to receive disability benefits under title II or disability payments under title XVI months, or perhaps even a year, earlier than if they had to wait for a hearing before an ALJ. As well, since attorney advisors may issue fully favorable decisions in cases that would otherwise require an ALJ to hold a hearing and issue a decision, the program allows ALJs to spend their time adjudicating more complex cases.

As an added benefit of the program, even if an attorney advisor cannot issue a fully favorable decision after conducting prehearing proceedings, the summary the attorney advisor drafts during his or her review can be valuable to the ALJ, helping to expedite the hearing process. Moreover, prehearing proceedings conducted by an attorney advisor do not delay the scheduling of a hearing unless a fully favorable decision is in process. Thus, if the attorney advisor is unable to issue a fully favorable decision after conducting prehearing proceedings, the case returns to its original place in line and continues under the SSA’s standard hearing process, with no delays caused by the attorney advisor’s review. For these reasons, making the attorney advisor program permanent benefits claimants by giving them a chance to receive a fully favorable decision more quickly and by expediting the overall hearings process, and it benefits ALJs and their support staff by allowing them to receive helpful case summaries from attorney advisors who assist with developing the record in cases that are selected for prehearing proceedings but that still require a hearing before an ALJ.

Read more of the Final Rule here: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/08/15/2018-17547/making-permanent-the-attorney-advisor-program

By: Joyce Trudeau of Premier Disability Services, LLC^®

Strengthening Protections for Social Security Beneficiaries

On April 13, 2018, The Strengthening the Protections for Social Security Beneficiaries Act of 2018 (H.R. 4547) was signed into law. A few key points from the new law:

Section 101 of the Act strengthens oversight of representative payees by requiring additional types of on-site reviews, improving the effectiveness of the reviews, and providing for an increased number of reviews. The law also directs the Social Security Administration to work with state Protection & Advocacy (P&A) organizations to conduct all periodic onsite reviews and additional discretionary reviews. The P&As will also conduct educational visits and reviews based on allegations they receive of payee misconduct.

Section 102 of the Act reduces the burden on families of Social Security beneficiaries and Supplemental Security Income recipients. The Social Security Administration will exempt the following representative payees from the annual requirement to account for the use of benefit payments:

• Natural or adoptive parents of a minor child beneficiary or recipient who primarily reside in the same household as the child;
• Legal guardians of a minor child beneficiary or recipient who primarily reside in the same household as the child;
• Natural or adoptive parents of a disabled adult beneficiary who primarily reside in the same household as the beneficiary; and
• Spouse of a beneficiary or recipient.

All representative payees are still required to keep records of how they spend or save the benefit payments. They must provide these records to the Social Security Administration for review if they are requested.

References: https://www.ssa.gov/legislation/legis_bulletin_042418.html ; [social_share/] Share via Email[print_link]