Survey Statistics: Social Security Disability Approval Rates for Common Medical Conditions

The most important factors determining whether you'll get disability benefits are the nature and severity of your medical conditions.

We surveyed readers across the U.S. who recently went through the process of applying for SSDI or SSI. Here's what we learned about how the nature of their medical problems affected the outcome of their claims.

Our survey shows that it's more difficult to receive benefits for some kinds of medical problems (known as "impairments") than others. There are several reasons for these differences, including how serious the diagnosis is, what doctors predict about its future course (your prognosis), and how hard it may be to prove that the impairment keeps you from working.

Disability Approval Rates by Medical Condition

Obviously, there's a wide range of medical conditions that can make someone disabled. But relatively few impairments account for a significant portion of disability applications. The most common are back problems (22% of readers in our survey), followed by depression and other mood and anxiety disorders (16% of our readers).

These common medical conditions didn't have the highest approval rates. About a third (34%) of readers with back and other spinal problems were approved (see our disability survey results on back conditions). And less than four in ten (37%) were approved for mood and anxiety disorders (note that other impairments in the category of mental disorders had higher approval rates; see our survey results on mental or emotional conditions).

For other common impairments, our survey showed that the likelihood of receiving benefits can vary widely depending on the nature of your medical problem—from a low of 40% for osteoarthritis and other joint diseases to highs of 68% for multiple sclerosis and 64% for all types of cancer. Less than half (47%) of readers with various types of respiratory problems were approved for benefits, but the rate was somewhat higher (50%) for those with serious disorders like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and emphysema.

Recent government statistics support our general survey findings. According to the Social Security Administration's Annual Statistical Report on the SSDI and SSI programs, of people who were granted disability benefits in 2021, about one-third were awarded based on musculoskeletal diseases (including many common back conditions) followed by mental disorders, impairments of the circulatory system, and nervous system (neurological) disorders.

When looking at these results, it's important to keep a few things in mind:

• There is a wide range of severity—from less serious to very severe—within these common impairments. For instance, for readers with metastasized cancer (meaning that it spread from the original site in the body), approval rates were significantly higher (78%) compared to the approval rates for cancer that had not spread (44%).
• These approval rates represent the percentage of readers who received benefits awards at some point in the process—either at the initial application stage or at a later hearing on appeal. In general, readers who requested a hearing were twice as likely to be approved for benefits as those who didn't (more on that below).
• Many disability applicants have more than one medical problem (in fact, a 2018 study from Social Security found that 71% of claimants listed secondary impairments). Our survey results (as well as government statistics) track outcomes for the primary impairment that applicants listed. But when applicants have several medical conditions at the same time, it can be easier to convince disability examiners and judges that the combined effects of those conditions limit their ability to work.

Improving Outcomes for Common Impairments

It's not surprising that some impairments are more likely to result in disability awards than others. Obviously, you can't do much to change your medical diagnosis in order to improve the outcome of your SSDI or SSI case. Still, there are steps you can take to tilt the odds in your favor, including requesting a hearing if your application is denied at first. Our survey showed that the average approval rate for readers with all types of impairments jumped from 23% at the initial stage to 46% at the hearing stage.

Government statistics (from 2007-2015) also show significantly higher approval rates after a hearing for the most common impairments, including MS (80%), chronic respiratory disorders (66%), osteoarthritis/osteoarthrosis and related disorders (64%), back disorders (63%), mood and anxiety disorders (59%), and non-arthritic joint disease (58%, which the government lists separately from osteoarthritis).