NEW WELFARE RULES WORRY RESEARCHER

N.S. Policy May Harm Those With Chronic Illnesses

A move by Nova Scotia's Community Services Department to streamline
delivery of some social assistance benefits may have increased pain
and suffering for some recipients with chronic illness, one
researcher suggests.

Under employment support and income assistance regulations, a
government case worker may have allowed a person on social assistance
to receive a special drug or therapy not usually covered if it was
needed to alleviate pain and suffering.

That section was repealed last month, said Barbara Blouin, who wrote
reports in the 1980s about single mothers and the poor on social assistance.

"What people are entitled to (is) fairly narrow already; a supervisor
has had the ability to override (regulations) when she or he thinks
there's just cause," said Blouin.

"This is relating to people with chronic illness or disabilities and
their need for medicine or some kind of medical treatment or even
medical marijuana.

"If it's on the (approved) Pharmacare list, they should be able to
get it. If it's not on the Pharmacare list, then the only way they
could get it is for the supervisor to override that.

"When the supervisor loses that ability, that changes the whole thing."

Janet Rathbun, director of income assistance for the Community
Services Department, acknowledged that the regulation referring to
alleviating pain and suffering had been repealed.

"The supervisor still has the ability to protect the health and
safety of an applicant or preserve the dwelling. . . . We just
renumbered those," she said.

"The reason we took it out is (because) pain and suffering was never
clearly understood and staff and clients had asked us what that
meant. Certainly our staff don't have the medical expertise to determine that."

Blouin said the wording was clear and questioned the need to clarify it more.

She said the Community Services Department has increased the pain and
suffering of many with chronic illness by restricting access to some
drugs, medical marijuana and other treatments.

The Health Department determines what drugs are required for a social
assistance recipient and the Community Services Department covers the
cost, Rathbun said.

If a drug is on an approved list, it is covered. If not, the Health
Department has an exception process and a different medication may be
approved, upon a request from a physician, Rathbun said.

About 75 per cent of social assistance recipients require
prescription medications for ongoing therapy or one-time
requirements, said Rathbun.

She said about 29,000 households -- 44,000 people -- receive social
assistance benefits.

A list from the department says some items have been provided to
clients that were not mentioned in regulations in 25 cases. One is
identified as "grow-op equipment."