P A R T C D e c i s i o n u n d e r A p p e a l T h e d e c i s i o n u n d e r a p p e a l i s t h e D e c e m b e r 1 7 , 2 0 1 S o c i a l D e v e l o p m e n t a n d S o c i a l I n n o v a t i o n ( t h e " m i n a p p e l l a n t w a s n o t e l i g i b l e f o r a d i e t s u p p l e m e n t f o r a S e c t i o n 5 o f t h e E m p l o y m e n t a n d A s s i s t a n c e f o r P e S e c t i o n 2 3 ( 2 ) o f t h e E m p l o y m e n t a n d A s s i s t a n c e f o " E A P W D R " ) . I n p a r t i c u l a r , t h e m i n i s t r y f o u n d t h a t t h r e g i s t e r e d d i e t i t i a n , w a s n o t r e c e i v e d u n t i l N o v e m b e a p p e l l a n t w a s n o t e l i g i b l e u n t i l t h a t d a t e . P A R T D R e l e v a n t L e g i s l a t i o n E A P W D A S e c t i o n 5 ; E A P W D R S e c t i o n 2 3 ( 2 ) E M T 0 0 3 ( 1 0 / 0 6 / 0 1 )A P P E A L # I 3 r e c o n s i d e r a t i o n d e c i s i o n o f t h e M i n i s t r y o f i s t r y " ) , i n w h i c h t h e m i n i s t r y d e t e r m i n e d t h a t t h e h i g h p r o t e i n d i e t i n O c t o b e r 2 0 1 3 a s p r o v i d e d i n r s o n s w i t h D i s a b i l i t i e s A c t ( t h e " E A P W D A " ) a n d r P e r s o n s w i t h D i s a b i l i t i e s R e g u l a t i o n ( t h e e a p p e l l a n t ' s a p p l i c a t i o n , c o m p l e t e d b y a r 1 2 , 2 0 1 3 , t h e r e f o r e u n d e r S e c t i o n 2 3 ( 2 ) t h e
PART E Sum mar y of Fact s Th e ap pellant is d e si gnated as a p e rso n w i t h disa bilitie sinc e 2006 . Sh e ha s bee n r e c e ivi ng a d iet sup pl emen dis continued in Sept ember 2013 , until el i gibility could to the ministry on Oc tober 2 1, 2013 from an a c u punct high p rotein d iet . The mi nis try indic a t ed that th e let p r actitioner or nur s e practition e r and not a Chinese me mi nist ry r e ceiv ed a fax from a h ospi t a l ba sed clini ca p r otei n diet. On N ove mber 12 , 2013 the mini s try a dde appe l la nt 's f i l e and a ch equ e for $ 4 0 was iss ued t o On N ovember 22, 2013 t he appell ant was advi s ed by the d i et su pple me n t f o r October as the requi re d documentat The appella n t requeste d a reconsi der atio n of th at decision Th e i nf orm at ion before the m i nistry at t he ti me o f r econ • A note from the appe l la nt' s a cup uncturist, u ndated of fice Octob er 16, 2013 , stati n g "Breast Cancer • A lette r f rom a ho s p ital b a s e d reg ist e red d i etit appella n t' s diet al lowance funding be reinstat • The ap pellant's R equest for R eco n sideration the a pp ella nt i n wh ic h sh e states that she was not informed disc o nt inued . S h e fur ther states th a t she p r ovided a whom she see s regula r ly, but the re q ues t was tha t she phoned the mi nistry t o find out w hich h as resu bmitt e d acc ord i ngly. She a dds that s and sti ll re quire s extra pr ot ei n in or der to have In her Notice of App eal , dated December 20, 2013, the ap ministry's dec i s i on b e cau se she was never required to renew the authorization for her nutrition suppleme nt pre viously or informed abo ut the need to renew, prior to its discontinuation. that her m edi cal condit ion and need persist and her health is adversely affected by a lack of protein in h e r di et. S he state s t ha t she mi ssed supplement pa O c t ober) and Oc t ober 2 3 ( f o r the month of November) and only received a single payment of $40 on November 18 (for the month of November). She would like month. The appellant's oral evidence on appeal included the follow Th e aooellant stated t hat sh e was diagnose d EMT 003(10/06/01) A PPEA L# I s, and is a recipi ent of disab ility assistance t for a high prot e in d iet s ince 20 06, wh i ch was be co n fi r m ed . The app ell an t submitted a not e ur ist , wh ic h indic a t ed h er c ont inued need fo r a ter of confi r mation must be from a medical d ici ne pr a ct i t ione r . On No v ember 7, 20 1 3 the l die titian st atin g th e a ppellant's need for a high d t he high pr o t ein diet s u pplem ent t o t he the a pp e lla n t for t he month of N ovembe r. the m i ni stry t hat sh e w as not eligible t o re ceiv e ion w as not re c eived u ntil Novem b e r. . siderati on i ncluded th e f o ll o wing : , but s tampe d 'received' by the ministry S p e ci a l D iet Al lowanc e/Ex tra P rotein". ian d at e d No v e mb e r 6, 2013, re questi n g that the e d. (RF R), dated No vem ber 26, 2013 and sign e d by that t he diet sup plem ent wo ul d be presc r ipti o n fro m her a cu punctu ris t , refused and not expl ained . Th e ap pellant writ es m ed ical p ro fess i o n a l s woul d be recogn iz ed and he stil l h a s ca nce r, r eceives regul a r t r eat men t energy f o r daily livin g. pell an t stat es that she disagrees with the She adds yments on Se p t ember 25 (fo r the month of to re ceive the suppleme nt fo r the missing ing info rmat io n: w ith canc er in 2005, stonned working in 2006
and began receiving assistance in 2006, which included supplements for a high protein diet, originally recommended by her General Practitioner. The appellant stated that her October assistance cheque (received at the end of September) was smaller than expected and when she contacted the ministry office to enquire about ii, she was informed that her diet supplement for a high protein diet had been terminated until she provided written confirmation by a medical practitioner that a high protein diet was still required. She added that since 2006 she had been receiving this supplement and had never been inf o rmed of the need f o r further documentation at any time over the past 7 years or that the supplement had an expiry date. The appellant told the panel that she requested a note from her acupuncturist in October, as she has not attended her General Practitioner in a long time because she was told that there was nothing further that could be done for her. When the acupuncturist's note was forwarded to the ministry, the appellant was informed that the acupuncturist did not meet the ministry's definition of a medical practitioner. The appellant stated that she then contacted the registered dietitian for the regional health authority, but because of her rural location, the dietitian was not available in her area until November, at which time she received the required documentation and forwarded it to the ministry. The appellant adds that, had she been informed that the supplement would be discontinued on a specific date, she would have requested the required documentation earlier, and had she been informed which types of medical practitioners would be recognized, she would have access the registered dietitian sooner as well. The ministry relied primarily on its reconsideration decision and provided clarification to the panel with regards to the ministry policy on administration of diet supplements. The ministry confirmed that the appellant had been issued diet supplements for a high protein diet since 2006 and although reviews of an applicant's eligibility typically occur every 24 months for people with chronic conditions, in the case of the appellant, review occurred in November 2009, September 2011 and September 2013. The ministry noted that at the times these reviews were conducted, the diet allowance f o r the appellant was appraised to confirm a continuing need and reinstated, however there were no supporting documents, such as medical practitioner recommendations, on file. The ministry stated that it is usually the responsibility of the ministry, when the supplement is approved, to inform the person receiving the assistance of the lime period it has been approved for, and when it will expire; however, there is no evidence that this information was provided to this appellant. The ministry added that the only notification that a person may receive that their supplement has been discontinued would be the reduced amount of their assistance payment. The ministry confirmed that there was an error in the Summary of Facts on the RFR, which stated that the aooellant received a cheque for $40 on September 30, when in fact she had EAAT 003( 10106101)
n o t . S h e r e c e i v e d t h e d i e t s u p p l e m e n t f o r S o n N o v e m b e r 1 2 , a n d t h e n t h e d i e t s u p p l e m b e n e f i t s f o r t h e m o n t h o f D e c e m b e r , w i t h t h e E M T 0 0 3 ( 1 0 / 0 6 / 0 1 )[ A P P F A I # _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ______, e p t e m b e r a t t h e e n d o f A u g u s t , a c h e q u e f o r $ 4 0 e n t w a s r e i n s t a t e d w i t h t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s u s u a l p a y m e n t N o v e m b e r 2 0 .
PART F -Re asons for Panel Deci s ion The i ssue on a p peal is the reasonableness of t he mi decisi on in w h i c h the ministry d etermined th a t the appellant was no a high protein diet in Octob er 2013 as provided in Section 5 of the Employment and Assis Persons w ith Disa bilities Act (the " EAP WDA") a nd Section 23 (2) of the fo r Persons with Disabilit ies Regulation (the "EAPWDR") because completed by a registered d i etitian, was not received until N Se ct ion 23(2) the appellant was not eligib le until that date. The re l e v a n t legislation is a s fo llows : EA PWD A Sec t i on 5 Subject to the regulations, the mini ster m ay p rovide disab il ity assistanc eligible for it. E A PWDR Section 23 -E ffectiv e date of el i gibilit y (ll Subje c t t o s ubs e c t io n {1.l l, t he fam ily u nit of an a p plican t that des igna tion a n d d isab ilit y as sistan ce (a l i s n ot eligible for dis ability ass is t ance unti l th e fi rst des ignat e s th e a ppl i can t as a pe rson with d isabilities, (bl o n tha t d ate, the fa mily u ni t b ec ome s e ligible u n der month's s helt er cost s t h a t rema ins u npaid on t hat date. {1.l l A famil y u nit of an app li c an t who a p pl ies f o r d i sability a ssist min ist er has deter mined wil l be des ign a ted as a p er so n wit h d ( a) is elig ibl e for disabili ty ass i st anc e on t h a t 1 8 th birthday, a (b) on that da te, is eligible u nder sect ion 4 a nd 5 of S chedule remai ns unpaid on that dat e. (1.2) A family unit of an appl icant for disability a s sistance who eligible for (a) a support al l owance under sections 2 and 3 of Schedule A on the date of the applicant's sub applicat i on f or d isability ass i st a nce (part 2) f o rm, (bl for a shelter allowance under sections 4 and 5 of Schedule A on the first day of the calendar month that includes the date of the applicant's submissi on of the application for that portion of that month's shelter costs that remains unpai (c) for disability assistance under section 6 to 9 of Schedule A on the date of the applicant's application for disability assistance (part 2) form. (2l A family unit is not eligible for a supplement in re sp e c t of a period before the minister determines the family unit is eligible for it. (3.ll If the tribunal rescinds a decision of the mi nister refusing a su supplement from the date of the minister's decision on the applicant's request under section 16 (1) of the Act EAAT 003(10/06/01) APPEA L # I nistry' s December 1 7, 2013 re c onsider atio n t eligible for a diet s u pplement fo r t a n c e for E mp l oyment and Assi stance the appell a n t ' s applicatio n , o vember 12, 2 013, a n d therefor e under e or a supplement to or for a family unit th at i s for des ignati on as a per son wi t h di sab ilit ies or f o r bo t h day of th e m o nt h a fter the month in w hich the minister a nd se ction 4 a n d 5 o f Sched u le A fo r t hat p ortion of t hat ance while th e applic ant is 17 year s of ag e an d who the i sabi l i t i e s on h is or h er 1 8th birthday n d A for that por t ion of th e mon th 's shel te r c o sts t hat has been desig nated as a pers on wit h di sabilities bec o me s m iss i on of the for disability assistance (part 2) form, but only d on the date of that submissi on, and pplement, the family unit is eli g i b l e for th e
[ r e c o n s i d e r a t i o n a n d a p p e a l r i g h t s ] i n r e l a t i o n t o t h e s u p p l e m ( 3 . 2 ) I f t h e t r i b u n a l r e s c i n d s a d e c i s i o n o f t h e m i n i s t e r d e t e r m d i s a b i l i t i e s , t h e p e r s o n ' s f a m i l y u n i t i s e l i g i b l e t o r e c e i v e d i s a b f a m i l y u n i t t h a t m a t c h e s t h a t f a m i l y u n i t o n t h e f i r s t d a y o f t h a p p l i c a n t ' s r e q u e s t u n d e r s e c t i o n 1 6 ( 1 ) o f t h e A c t [ r e c o n s i d e ( B . C . R e g . 3 4 0 / 2 0 0 8 ) ( 4 ) I f a f a m i l y u n i t t h a t i n c l u d e s a n a p p l i c a n t w h o h a s b e e n d e d i s a b i l i t y a s s i s t a n c e f r o m t h e d a t e t h e f a m i l y u n i t b e c a m e e l i w h i c h e v e r o f t h e f o l l o w i n g r e s u l t s i n t h e s h o r t e r p a y m e n t p e ( a ) t h e d a t e t h e f a m i l y u n i t b e c a m e e l i g i b l e f o r d i s a b i ( b ) 1 2 c a l e n d a r m o n t h s b e f o r e t h e d a t e o f p a y m e n t . ( 5 ) A f a m i l y u n i t i s n o t e l i g i b l e f o r a n y a s s i s t a n c e i n r e s p e c t o f m o n t h i n w h i c h t h e a s s i s t a n c e i s r e q u e s t e d . D i e t S u p p l e m e n t 6 6 ( 1 ) T h e m i n i s t e r m a y p a y f o r a d i e t s u p p l e m e n t i n a c c o r d a [ d i e t s u p p l e m e n t s ] o f S c h e d u l e C f o r a r e c i p i e n t o f d i s a b i l i t y a [ m o n t h l y s h e l t e r a l l o w a n c e ] , 6 [ p e o p l e r e c e i v i n g r o o m a n d b o h o u s e s ] o f S c h e d u l e A o r a d e p e n d a n t o f t h a t p e r s o n i f t h e r e { a ) a s p e c i a l d i e t f o r a s p e c i f i c m e d i c a l c o n d i t i o n d e s c { b ) a s p e c i a l d i e t d e s c r i b e d i n s e c t i o n 6 o f S c h e d u l e C ( B . C . R e g . 6 4 / 2 0 1 0 ) { 2 ) A p e r s o n i s n o t e l i g i b l e f o r a s u p p l e m e n t u n d e r s u b s e c t i o n w r i t i n g b y { a ) a m e d i c a l p r a c t i t i o n e r , { a . 1 ) a n u r s e p r a c t i t i o n e r , o r ( B . C . R e g . 3 1 7 / 2 0 0 8 ) { b ) a r e g i s t r a n t o f t h e C o l l e g e o f D i e t i t i a n s o f B r i t i s h C { B . C . R e g . 2 0 2 / 2 0 0 6 ) ( 3 ) T h e m i n i s t e r m a y n o t p r o v i d e a s u p p l e m e n t u n d e r t h i s s e c w h o m t h e m i n i s t e r i s p r o v i d i n g a s u p p l e m e n t u n d e r s e c t i o n 6 D i e t S u p p l e m e n t s 6 ( 1 ) T h e a m o u n t o f a d i e t s u p p l e m e n t t h a t m a y b e p r o v i d e d f o l l o w s : ( a ) $ 1 0 f o r e a c h c a l e n d a r m o n t h f o r a p e r s o n w h o r e q ( b ) $ 3 5 f o r e a c h c a l e n d a r m o n t h f o r a p e r s o n w h o h a s ( c ) $ 3 0 f o r e a c h c a l e n d a r m o n t h f o r a p e r s o n w h o r e q k i d n e y d i a l y s i s s e r v i c e p r o v i d e d b y t h e M i n i s t r y o f H e a { d ) $ 4 0 f o r e a c h c a l e n d a r m o n t h f o r a p e r s o n w h o r e ( e ) $ 4 0 f o r e a c h c a l e n d a r m o n t h f o r a p e r s o n w h o r e q ( f ) $ 4 0 f o r e a c h c a l e n d a r m o n t h f o r a p e r s o n w h o h a s ( g ) $ 5 0 f o r e a c h c a l e n d a r m o n t h f o r a p e r s o n w h o h a s ( h ) $ 4 0 f o r e a c h c a l e n d a r m o n t h f o r w h i c h a p e r s o n r e ( i ) $ 4 0 f o r e a c h c a l e n d a r m o n t h f o r w h i c h t h e p e r s o n ( 2 ) A d i e t s u p p l e m e n t u n d e r s u b s e c t i o n ( 1 ) ( d ) m a y o n l y b e p r E AA T 0 0 3 ( 1 0 / 0 6 / 0 1 )A P P E A L # I e n t . i n i n g t h a t a p e r s o n d o e s n o t q u a l i f y a s a p e r s o n w i t h i l i t y a s s i s t a n c e a t t h e r a t e s p e c i f i e d u n d e r S c h e d u l e A f o r a e m o n t h a f t e r t h e d a t e o f t h e m i n i s t e r ' s d e c i s i o n o n t h e r a t i o n a n d a p p e a l r i g h t s ] i n r e l a t i o n t o t h e d e s i g n a t i o n . s i g n a t e d a s a p e r s o n w i t h d i s a b i l i t i e s d o e s n o t r e c e i v e g i b l e f o r i t , t h e m i n i s t e r m a y b a c k d a t e p a y m e n t b u t o n l y t o r i o d : l i t y a s s i s t a n c e ; a s e r v i c e p r o v i d e d o r a c o s t i n c u r r e d b e f o r e t h e c a l e n d a r n c e w i t h s e c t i o n 6 s s i s t a n c e u n d e r s e c t i o n 2 [ m o n t h l y s u p p o r t a l l o w a n c e ] , 4 a r d ] , o r 9 [ p e o p l e i n e m e r g e n c y s h e l t e r s a n d t r a n s i t i o n c i p i e n t o r d e p e n d a n t r e q u i r e s r i b e d i n s e c t i o n 6 o f S c h e d u l e C , o r . ( 1 ) u n l e s s t h e n e e d f o r t h e s p e c i a l d i e t i s c o n f i r m e d i n o l u m b i a e s t a b l i s h e d u n d e r t h e H e a l t h P r o f e s s i o n s A c t . t i o n t o o r f o r a f a m i l y u n i t f o r a p e r s o n o n a c c o u n t o f 7 ( 1 ) o r ( 3 ) [ n u t r i t i o n a l s u p p l e m e n t s ] . ( B . C . R e g . 2 8 8 / 2 0 0 3 ) u n d e r s e c t i o n 6 6 [ d i e t s u p p l e m e n t s ] o f t h i s r e g u l a t i o n i s a s u i r e s a r e s t r i c t e d s o d i u m d i e t ; d i a b e t e s ; ( B . C . R e g . 6 0 / 2 0 0 7 ) u i r e s k i d n e y d i a l y s i s i f t h e p e r s o n i s n o t e l i g i b l e u n d e r t h e l t h ; q u i r e s a h i g h p r o t e i n d i e t ; u i r e s a g l u t e n f r e e d i e t ; d y s p h a g i a ; c y s t i c f i b r o s i s . q u i r e s a k e t o g e n i c d i e t ; r e q u i r e s a l o w p h e n y l a l a n i n e d i e t . ( B . C . R e g . 8 5 / 2 0 1 2 ) o v i d e d i f t h e d i e t i s c o n f i r m e d b y a m e d i c a l p r a c t i t i o n e r o r
nurse practit ioner as being neces sary f or one o f the fol l o wing ( a) c ancer th at r equires n u tr itional s upport du r ing (i) radiat ion therapy, (ii) chemot h erapy, (iii) surgical therapy, or (iv) o n going med i cal treatment; (b) chroni c i n fla m mator y bowel disease; (c) Crohn's di sease; (d) ulcerative coli tis; (e) HIV pos itive diagn o si s ; ( f ) AIDS; (g) chroni c bacterial infection; (h) t uberculosi s; (i) h yperthyr oidis m ; (j) o steoporosis; (k) hepatitis B; (I) he p atitis C. (4) If a person ha s more than one of th e m e di cal cond it i ons se amo u nt of the hi g hest di et supplement for whi ch he or she is eligible. * Whether the appe l lan t is eligible to rece ive a D ie t Sup 2 01 3, pri o r t o having this s u pp l e m e nt re-i n sta t ed by The a ppe llant argues tha t sh e ha d su bmit ted a no te f ol lowing noti fica tion th a t d ocument a t i on w as r equired acup uncturi st' s note was insuffi c i ent , she co ntac ted because she resides in a rural community, she was not able to see not e u nt il No vember. The app ellant s ta tes that h ad expiry and type of health care professional recognized, she could have met the requirements sooner. The ministry determined that the appellant submitted the information required to confirm eligibility for a diet supplement for a high protein diet on November 12, 2013. EAPDWR, the a p pellant is not eligible until the date that eligibility is confirmed. sympathetic to the circumstances but notes that they do not have the discretion to backdate eligibility. The panel finds that althou gh t he appellant d i d mak e to confirm eligibility to the ministry in a timely manner, the note from the registered dietitian received by the ministry until November 12, 2013. As Section 23 (2) of the EAPWDR stipulates that a family unit is not eligible for a supplement in respect of a period before the ministry determines eligibility, the appella n t's eligibility was reinstated beainni EMT 003(10/06/01) AP PEAL# I medical conditi ons: (B.C. R e g. 317 /2008) t out in s u bsecti on (1), t he perso n m ay r ece ive on ly the * * ple ment for a High Pro te i n D ie t for O ct obe r t h e ministry i n N ovembe r 2 0 1 3. from h er acu punctu ri st as soo n as she was a b le, . She adds that w hen s h e wa s told th at t he t he regis tere d d ie t itia n se rv ing t h e area, b u t th e d iet itian a nd r eceive a new she b een notifie d o f the pe n di n g supp lement As outlined in Section 23 (2) of the T he m inis t ry is a ttempts t o p rovide the required docume n t ation was not na Novembe r 1, 2013. Accordin gly, the
APPEAL# I panel finds that the ministry reasonably determined that the appellant's eligibility was confirmed on November 12 and she was not eligible for the supplement in October. Conclusion For the reasons detailed above, the panel finds that the ministry decision was a reasonable application of the legislation in the circumstances of the appellant. Accordingly, the ministry decision is confirmed. EAA T003(10106101)
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