As you may have heard, suffering from any one of hundreds of illnesses or disorders in Michigan can qualify you for making a claim for Social Security Supplemental Security Income benefits. But as you likely also have heard, such claims can become extremely complicated and can take months to process.
Fortunately, however, Social Security’s Compassionate Allowances Program can cut your processing time from months to only a few days. Currently, approximately 230 conditions fall under this umbrella, including the following:
- Blindness
- Various cancers
- Various immune system disorders
- Various neurodegenerative diseases
- Various genetic disorders
CAL Program
Theoretically, you need not specifically apply for a compassionate allowance since the Social Security Administration has special software systems to identify these types of SSI claims. However, it never hurts to mention the CAL Program in your application. In any event, you and your attorney should carefully review the current list of qualifying illnesses and conditions to make sure that your diagnosis matches at least one of them.
Other programs
In addition to CAL, Social Security also has other programs to expedite specific disability claims such as the following:
- Amputation
- Total blindness
- Total deafness
- Low birth weight infant
- Metastasized cancer
- Down syndrome
In addition, you may well receive expedited processing if you are a veteran who became disabled after 2001 and while on active duty. Your disability, however, need not be the result of a military action.
Keep in mind that while you will have to wait at least five months to begin receiving SSDI payments, no such waiting period applies to SSI payments. You will start receiving them almost immediately after you file your claim.