What Medical Conditions Will Social Security Consider Disabling?

Posted on September 6, 2010 by Editorial Board

Just about any disease or disorder diagnosed by a doctor can be disabling under Social Security law.  But Social Security has always had a special list of impairments which helps them short-cut the decision making process.  These conditions very significantly restrict the ability to work.

The list below is categorized by body system. If you click on any topic in the list you can read more about that condition.  After you click on a topic listed below you will find questions related to your medical condition that show how Social Security will evaluate the severity of your condition.

Be Compliant With Medical Treatment

Many of the conditions listed below follow Social Security’s “listing of impairments,” but not everything listed below are covered in the listings.  One theme that runs throughout the “listing of impairments” is the requirement of prescribed treatment and compliance with treatment.  This means that Social Security will look at whether a medical condition results in symptoms due to the individual’s failure to “follow doctor’s orders” and may not award benefits if the evidence shows non-compliance.

Social Security will consider some reasons for lack of treatment as acceptable, such as religious objection, the risks associated with certain invasive procedures, and the inability to pay for treatment.  But if access to health care is available, Social Security will regard failure to access the care as unacceptable.  This means that indigent health facilities in the community should be accessed even if they don’t provide the same quality of care provided by providers that were available when the individual had health insurance.  If the condition ultimately causes permanent and irreversible damage, then compliance may no longer be relevant.

List of Major Disabling Medical Conditions (links to our articles by condition)

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