Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) payments are a lifeline for many individuals here in Oklahoma and throughout the rest of the United States. Their lives would be in dire straights if they weren’t receiving these benefits. Unfortunately, it often takes the Social Security Administration (SSA) significant time to process disability payments applications. Your application can be fast-tracked if you’ve been diagnosed with certain conditions though.
There are currently about 240 conditions that can result in your SSDI application being processed more quickly than others. If you’ve been diagnosed with an advanced stage of cancer, a rare genetic or immune system disorder or neurodegenerative diseases, then the review of your application may be fast-tracked.
In the past, the only way an SSDI applicant could qualify for an expedited review of their file was by applying for a compassionate allowance. The SSA now use their Quick Disability Determination (QDD) software to weed through applicants. This computer program looks for certain keywords or phrases contained in applications. It then earmarks them for faster processing.
There a few different circumstances under which the SSA will generally speed up your application’s processing time. They’ll often do so if your disease has reached the terminal stage or you’re in hospice care. The SSA also tends to expedite the review of an application if the applicant is in imminent danger of becoming homeless.
If a person has a presumptive disability such as amputation, HIV/AIDS, down syndrome, blindness, deafness or some other severe physical or intellectual impairment, then they may be eligible to receive up to 6-month’s worth of benefits while their case is being reviewed.
There is a waiting period to receive SSDI benefits. An applicant generally cannot receive benefits any sooner than five months after their disability began. Thus, it’s important to get your application process started as soon as possible.
The process for approval can be lengthy and complicated. If you don’t take the time to fill out and submit your paperwork correctly, then you may incur further delays. An experienced attorney here in Oklahoma City may be able to help guide you in applying for benefits, so you hopefully don’t incur any processing delays.