Many Canadians with Type 1 diabetes still unable to claim Disability Tax Credit
Posted November 27, 2017 10:00 am.
Last Updated November 27, 2017 8:36 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – If you have Type 1 diabetes, you may be among those growing frustrated with the Canada Revenue Agency. People with the disease who have been claiming the Disability Tax Credit for years are now being denied.
“Some people are approved and others are not — even though they all have a letter from their doctor or their health care practitioner,” says Sheila Kern with Diabetes Canada.
Kern tells us a year ago, only about 20 per cent of these claims were being denied. “Now, it’s about 80 per cent denied. So, it’s been an extreme shift.”
To claim the credit, you need to be able to prove you’re spending 14 hours a week on care and therapy.
Despite complaints from coast to coast, Kern says the CRA hasn’t taken action. “What they had said was an adult who independently manages insulin therapy does not meet the 14-hour-a-week criteria.”
She says a letter was sent to the Minister of National Revenue last month detailing concerns, and meetings have taken place since then. But rejection letters keep on coming.
“Canadians are upset. Diabetes is an expensive disease,” says Kern.
“If you’re on an insulin pump, continuous glucose monitor… plus your medications… it could be up to $15,000 a year.”
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