Whats the best way to speed up my social security disability claim?
After you file your claims for either Social Security Disability Insurance benefits (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI),
you may have a long wait ahead of you. It could take as little as a few months to over a year, sometimes 2 years before you have final adjudication on your claim. The wait times after filing your initial application have increased significantly during the pandemic. What once took an average of 122 days in the last quarter of 2019 is now taking 169 days in the same quarter of 2021. The wait is difficult for many individuals if you lack income coming into the household as well as medical care due to no insurance.
The Social Security Administration (SSA) may expedite processing for those individuals who have a specific kind of medical condition, are experiencing a dire need situation or have served in the US armed forces or military. Additionally hiring a lawyer can help push your case through the system faster.
Here are some of the ways to speed up the process.
Compassionate Allowances
Individuals who have certain kinda of medical conditions are entitled to expedited processing of their disability claims under SSA’s Compassionate Allowance program. This program has about 250 different conditions that include certain cancers, dementia, Huntington’s disease and many other major illnesses. If youve been diagnosed with any of these 250 conditions , you may receive automatic and expedited approval.
Terminal illness
If you have a terminal illness aka TERI case you will be automatically considered for expedited processing and determination of your claim. Some TERI conditions include:
ALS
AIDS
malignant and stage IV cancers
in-patient hospice care or home hospice care
heart, lung, heart and lung, liver or bone marrow transplant
Dire need situations
If you don’t have food, water, housing or is on the verge of losing housing, your claim may be expedited as a dire need situation. Its best to submit a dire need letter detailing youre dire need situation.
Military service
Social Security speeds up disability claims for veterans of the U.S. armed forces if they were disabled while in active service on or after Oct. 1, 2001, or have a VA rating of 100
percent. Keep in mind that 100 percent VA disability does not automatically translate to an automatic social security disability approval.
Attorney Assistance
A lawyer or attorney can assist you with the application process and will ensure that you’ve put the right information on your forms so that your case can be expedited . An attorney can also talk with SSA to figure out why your case may be taking so long. Congressional member help
Your local or state representatives in Congress may also be able to help. You may consider reaching out to your state sentator or house member so that they may contact SSA on your behalf.
On-the-record request
Another option is to write an on the record request (OTR) letter to the administrative law judge. But the medical evidence and diagnosis you suffer from have to warrant an OTR. Cases such as dialysis can lead to an OTR decision . The judge will then review your OTR request and decide whether to issue now approval without the need for a hearing.