How the VA Rates Diabetes Mellitus Type 2

The short answer

VA rates type 2 diabetes under 38 C.F.R. § 4.119, DC 7913: 10 percent if it is managed by diet alone, 20 percent if you need insulin or an oral medication plus a restricted diet, and 40 percent if you also need regulation of activities, meaning a doctor has told you to avoid strenuous activity because of your diabetes. Sixty and 100 percent add hospitalizations or frequent care visits for low blood sugar or ketoacidosis. Complications such as neuropathy, retinopathy, and kidney disease are rated separately when they are compensable on their own.

The rating levels

Criteria paraphrased from 38 CFR § 4.119, DC 7913 for readability. Monthly amounts are the 2026 rate (effective December 1, 2025) for a veteran with no dependents if this were the only rated condition — dependents add more, and multiple conditions combine under the VA’s own math.

1. 100%

   $3,938.58/month

   Requiring more than one daily injection of insulin, restricted diet, and regulation of activities (avoidance of strenuous occupational and recreational activities) with episodes of ketoacidosis or hypoglycemic reactions requiring at least three hospitalizations per year or weekly visits to a diabetic care provider, plus either progressive loss of weight and strength or complications that would be compensable if separately evaluated.

   Examples from this level’s criteria

   • More than one daily insulin injection, restricted diet, and regulation of activities
   • Ketoacidosis or hypoglycemic reactions requiring 3+ hospitalizations per year or weekly diabetic care visits
   • Progressive loss of weight and strength, or complications that would be compensable on their own
2. 60%

   $1,435.02/month

   Requiring one or more daily injection of insulin, restricted diet, and regulation of activities with episodes of ketoacidosis or hypoglycemic reactions requiring one or two hospitalizations per year or twice a month visits to a diabetic care provider, plus complications that would not be compensable if separately evaluated.

   Examples from this level’s criteria

   • Insulin, restricted diet, and regulation of activities
   • Ketoacidosis or hypoglycemic reactions requiring 1–2 hospitalizations per year or twice-monthly diabetic care visits
   • Complications that would not be compensable on their own
3. 40%

   $795.84/month

   Requiring one or more daily injection of insulin, restricted diet, and regulation of activities (avoidance of strenuous occupational and recreational activities).

   Examples from this level’s criteria

   • Daily insulin AND restricted diet
   • A provider has told you to avoid strenuous occupational and recreational activities (regulation of activities)
4. 20%

   $356.66/month

   Requiring one or more daily injection of insulin and restricted diet, or; oral hypoglycemic agent and restricted diet.

   Examples from this level’s criteria

   • Daily insulin plus a restricted diet, or
   • An oral hypoglycemic agent plus a restricted diet
5. 10%

   $180.42/month

   Manageable by restricted diet only.

   Examples from this level’s criteria

   • Diabetes controlled by a restricted diet alone — no insulin or oral agent

The listed symptoms are examples that appear in each level’s criteria — not a checklist that earns a percentage. Raters apply the criteria as a whole.