What conditions qualify for SSDI?

SSA's five-step sequential evaluation

Under 20 C.F.R. § 404.1520, every SSDI decision follows the same five steps:

1. SGA. Are you working at Substantial Gainful Activity? If yes, denied.
2. Severe impairment. Do you have a medically determinable impairment that significantly limits work activity?
3. Listing. Does the impairment meet or medically equal a Blue Book Listing? If yes, approved.
4. Past relevant work. Can you still perform your past work despite your Residual Functional Capacity?
5. Other work. Can you perform other work in the national economy given your age, education, and skills?

The Blue Book Listings (14 body systems)

The Listing of Impairments organizes qualifying conditions by body system. Each Listing specifies exact severity criteria (imaging findings, lab values, functional limits) that must be met and documented:

• 1.00 Musculoskeletal. Spinal disorders, joint dysfunction, amputations.
• 2.00 Special senses and speech. Vision loss, hearing loss.
• 3.00 Respiratory. COPD, cystic fibrosis, chronic asthma, pulmonary fibrosis.
• 4.00 Cardiovascular. Heart failure, ischemic heart disease, arrhythmias.
• 5.00 Digestive. Inflammatory bowel disease, liver disease, short-bowel syndrome.
• 6.00 Genitourinary. Chronic kidney disease, nephrotic syndrome.
• 7.00 Hematological. Sickle cell disease, hemolytic anemias, bone marrow failure.
• 8.00 Skin. Severe burns, chronic infections, hidradenitis, bullous disease.
• 9.00 Endocrine. Diabetes complications, thyroid, parathyroid, adrenal disorders.
• 10.00 Congenital. Down syndrome and other congenital disorders affecting multiple body systems.
• 11.00 Neurological. Epilepsy, Parkinson's, MS, ALS, traumatic brain injury, stroke.
• 12.00 Mental disorders. Depression, bipolar, anxiety, PTSD, schizophrenia, autism, intellectual disorder, neurocognitive disorder.
• 13.00 Cancer (neoplastic diseases). Metastatic cancers, treatment-resistant cancers, specific stagings.
• 14.00 Immune system disorders. Lupus, HIV, inflammatory arthritis, immune deficiency disorders.

Compassionate Allowances

The Compassionate Allowances (CAL) program automatically flags the most catastrophic diagnoses for fast approval. There are currently more than 280 conditions on the list, including:

• ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease), pancreatic cancer, glioblastoma multiforme, malignant multiple sclerosis.
• Early-onset Alzheimer's disease, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, frontotemporal dementia (Pick's disease).
• Small cell lung cancer, esophageal cancer, mesothelioma, most Stage IV solid tumors.
• Many rare pediatric disorders (SMA type 1, DIPG, Batten disease).

A CAL-flagged case can be decided within days or weeks. If your diagnosis is on the list and does not appear to have been flagged, tell SSA in writing.

Winning without a Listing — RFC and the grids

Most Michigan SSDI cases are decided at Steps 4 and 5 based on Residual Functional Capacity (RFC) — the maximum you can still do despite your impairments. SSA considers exertional limits (lift, carry, sit, stand, walk), postural limits (bend, crawl, climb), manipulative limits (reach, handle, finger), environmental limits, and mental limits (understand, remember, concentrate, interact, adapt).

When the RFC prevents past work, SSA applies the Medical-Vocational Guidelines (the "grids") in Appendix 2 to Subpart P. The grids cross RFC with age, education, and transferable skills to direct a finding of disabled or not disabled. Individuals 50 and over with limited RFC are frequently found disabled by grid rules that are much less generous for younger claimants.

Symptom evaluation and treating-source evidence

Under 20 C.F.R. § 404.1529 and SSR 16-3p, subjective symptoms (pain, fatigue, brain fog) are evaluated when consistent with the medical record. Under 20 C.F.R. § 404.1520c, treating-source opinions are no longer given automatic controlling weight (for claims filed on or after March 27, 2017), but supportability and consistency with the objective evidence remain the two most important factors. Getting the medical documentation right is the single biggest driver of approval.