Social Security Administration Adds Early-Onset Alzheimer's to its Compassionate Allowances Initiative
In its effort to improve and expedite the disability determination process, the Social Security Administration (SSA) has announced it will add early-onset Alzheimer’s disease to its Compassionate Allowances Initiative. The initiative identifies debilitating diseases and medical conditions that meet the SSA’s disability standards for Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Inclusion in the initiative allows for faster payment of Social Security benefits to individuals with Alzheimer’s disease.
“We applaud the Social Security Administration for recognizing that Alzheimer’s disease leaves people unable to work, as cognitive impairment worsens, and deserving of an expedited disability determination,” said Joan D’Ambrose, President Alzheimer’s Association, St. Louis Chapter.
Since 2003, the Alzheimer’s Association has been advocating on behalf of those with early-onset Alzheimer’s as they navigate the Social Security disability determinations process and welcomes the SSA’s decision. Until now, individuals with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease have faced a myriad of challenges when applying for SSDI or SSI, including a long decision process, initial denials, and multiple appeals. Today’s decision will simplify and streamline the SSDI/SSI application process and decrease the wait time for benefits, which for some has lasted as long as three years.
There are currently an estimated 5.3 million Americans with Alzheimer’s disease. Although the majority of Alzheimer cases are individuals age 65 and older, a significant number of people under age 65 are also affected by this fatal disease and have few financial options other than the Social Security disability program.
In addition to Alzheimer’s disease, mixed-dementia and Primary Progressive Aphasia were also added to the Compassionate Allowances Initiative under the SSA’s recent decision. To determine which diseases and conditions to include, SSA has held several public outreach hearings throughout the country that have included testimony from medical and scientific experts, as well as those directly affected by these diseases and conditions. The July 2009 Compassionate Allowance Hearing on Early-Onset Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias, held in Chicago, included testimony from President and CEO of the Alzheimer’s Association Harry Johns, several of the nation’s top Alzheimer researchers, and caregivers and individuals with early-onset Alzheimer’s who discussed the challenges they faced during the disability application process. During the day-long hearing, SSA officials heard about the terminal nature of Alzheimer’s, the disabilities that often prohibit work in even the earliest stages of the disease, and the lack of effective treatments to modify or halt the progression of Alzheimer’s.
The Social Security Administration’s proactive efforts to “fast track” certain conditions will help to reduce the backlog of disability claims and, more importantly, ensure those claims that fall under this initiative will be decided within days instead of months or years.