Social Security Disability Rule Extended to Expedite Compassionate Allowances Claims

If an injury or illness has left you unable to work, you may qualify for Social Security Disability benefits. But it’s important to remember that it can take time for your claim to be processed.

Data from the Social Security Administration (SSA) indicates the wait time for a decision to be reached on disability claims may be longer than one year, despite the agency having a goal of processing all new claims in a fraction of that time.

To help alleviate the backlog of unprocessed disability claims, the SSA has announced it will extend the expiration date for a rule enacted to expedite the claims process for certain applicants. A press release states the regulation allows state agency disability examiners to approve or deny claims without receiving the approval of a medical or psychological consultant in cases that fall under either the Quick Disability Determination or Compassionate Allowances processes.

The rule was set to expire on Nov. 15, but has been extended until Nov. 13, 2015. Officials hope extending the expiration date will allow the SSA to speed up their approval process by permitting medical staff to focus only on cases that require professional opinions.

The Social Security Disability Lawyers with Fleschner, Stark, Tanoos & Newlin recognize how complex the Social Security Disability process can be and are hopeful this extension will help expedite the processing of claims.