Fishermen’s Pension and Social Security Benefit Scheme Act No. 23 of 1990 to be amended

On Tuesday, the Social Security Administration announced it would be adding 14 more conditions to its fast-track disability list, known as the Compassionate Allowances list. This list aims to expedite the approval process for disability benefits for individuals with rare, life-threatening, or severe medical conditions. Currently, the list encompasses 314 conditions and has helped 1.2 million people receive disability benefits, according to the agency.

The Social Security Administration employs technology to scan disability applications for conditions on the compassionate allowances list. Applications on this list often receive approval within days, whereas a typical disability application can take between six and eight months to be approved, the Social Security Administration has stated.

The newly added conditions to the list include rare pediatric and neurological disorders such as Aicardi syndrome, a genetic condition predominantly affecting girls, and some rare cancers, including primary cardiac sarcoma. The new conditions added to the list are Adenylosuccinate Lyase deficiency - Neonatal Form and Type 1, Aicardi syndrome, Baraitser-Winter syndrome, Beare-Stevenson cutis gyrata syndrome, Bohring-Opitz syndrome, CASK-related gene disorders, Hepatosplenic T-cell lymphoma, Lafora disease, Malignant Migrating Partial Seizures of Infancy (MMPSI), OPHN1 syndrome, Primary cardiac sarcoma, Primary intracranial malignant melanoma, Uveal Melanoma - with metastases, and Warburg micro syndrome.