In order to receive a severely disabled person's certificate, people with diabetes must prove that they have made significant changes to their lifestyle
16.11.2012 17:34
In order for diabetics to receive severely disabled status, in addition to the burden of high therapeutic effort, there must also be significant impairments in everyday life: According to the relevant regulations, people with diabetes can receive severely disabled status if they need at least four insulin injections daily, the dose of which depends on their diet, exercise and blood sugar adjust yourself. However, contrary to what you sometimes read, this therapy effort alone is not enough to get a severely disabled person's ID card. Rather, those affected must also prove that their lifestyle has been seriously affected by significant cuts. In a recent decision (B 9 SB 2/12 R, judgment of October 25, 2012) these additional requirements were confirmed again by the Federal Social Court. diabetesDE – Deutsche Diabetes-Hilfe therefore advises people with diabetes to document the required serious lifestyle changes in as much detail as possible when applying for a severely disabled person's card.
In order to compensate for disadvantages in everyday life, severely disabled people can take advantage of professional and financial advantages. This includes special protection against dismissal, additional vacation, the possibility of an early retirement pension and tax advantages. People with diabetes can apply to the pension office to have their severely disabled status determined. There it is checked whether the requirements are met.
However, the Medical Care Ordinance certainly leaves room for interpretation. According to the wording of the regulation, it is required that patients' lifestyles must be seriously affected by significant cuts. “It is not uncommon for people to erroneously claim that the high level of treatment required for diabetes alone is enough to qualify for a severely disabled person’s certificate,” says lawyer Oliver Ebert, chairman of the Social Affairs Committee of the German Diabetes Society (DDG). “However, if the additional requirements are not proven, the application is often rejected,” Ebert continued. The Federal Social Court has now made this clear again in a recent decision: the effort involved in measuring and injecting alone is not enough to be recognized as severely disabled.
The required conditions are usually present in people with type 1 diabetes, especially children and adolescents. However, “Errors when submitting the application often lead to the degree of disability required for a severely disabled person’s ID not being recognized or the process being drawn out considerably,” emphasizes Oliver Ebert. An application for a severely disabled person's ID card should therefore be thoroughly prepared together with the treating doctor and justified in detail. “Applicants should provide evidence of the therapy effort over a period of at least three months and describe as comprehensively as possible the extent to which their lifestyle is affected by diabetes,” advises the lawyer.