There are a few ways to try to speed things up with Social Security and the long approval process. But what you or I might thing of as “sped up” is not what you should expect. Nonetheless, if you have a terminal illness, like ALS, certain types of cancer, a need for certain transplants, or similar conditions, that are uncurable and likely to cause death, this should help speed up the process. Members of the military are also supposed to get expedited decision-making. Finally, you can ask that Social Security consider you to have a “dire need” and to expedite your case. Of course, everyone believes they have a dire need case, and almost everyone does have a dire need. But to even hope to fall in this category with Social Security, and get in line ahead of the others in need, we must show you are about to lose something like housing (e.g., you have a foreclosure or eviction notice) or medical care (e.g., your COBRA insurance is about to expire).