People who are diabetic generally fall within two main groups within the DTC qualifying criteria, those who insulin dependant and those who are not. For diabetics who are Type I diabetic, or insulin-dependant (also know as Juvenile Diabetes), the DTC may be applicable to them based on the “Life Sustaining Therapy” (LST) criteria. The LST criteria allow a person whose insulin administration requires at least 3x per week, and 14 hours per week to administer. By the most part, adults who are diabetic and insulin dependant do not meet this criteria, as their insulin administering does not take at least 2 hours per day. However, for Type I diabetic children, parents and caregivers time spent in the monitoring and administering of the child’s insulin can add up to over 14 hours per week, where generally Type I diabetic children are approved of the DTC. So, overall, Type I diabetic adults do not meet the “Life Sustaining Therapy” criteria of the DTC, Type I diabetic children do.
For Type II diabetics, although LST (above) is not applicable at all, other DTC criteria may be. For example, the “cumulative effects” criteria (explained separately) often is applicable to Type II diabetics who are restricted to a lesser degree in 2 or more functions (2 -8 functions) defined within the DTC, such that the combined restrictive effects, or the “cumulative effects” of the multitude of restricted functions are “equivalent” to a “moderate” restriction (three times slowed/inordinate amount of time). This means that relatively mild restriction in 2 to 8 functions combined, if equivalent to being “three times” slowed in one function, can qualify for the DTC. See the “cumulative effects” case study for more information.
As an example, if a Type II diabetic where somewhat slowed in walking, dressing, food preparation, wore corrective eye wear, and had increased frequency in bladder functions, to a mild degree, they could qualify for the DTC, as these would be “equivalent” to a “moderate” restriction in any one function. Therefore the “cumulative effects” criteria can often be applicable to Type II diabetics who find that they are slowed to a lesser degree in many functions. All Type II diabetics who find that their conditions slows them down to a degree on an average day should be assessed for the DTC.
Be sure to take our Free Instant Online DTC Assessment to determine whether you may qualify, for which number of years, and the benefit amount available for your specific case, for past and future years. Remember it absolutely FREE! CLICK HERE FOR YOUR FREE DTC ASSESSMENT.
