Inquiry for case review with health plan committee remains unanswered
For students with accessibility needs, the University of Guelph can easily be considered one of the most accessible universities in Canada, thanks in large part to Student Accessibility Services (SAS).
The SAS provides a great deal of support to students registered at the university that come from all walks of life and is dedicated to fostering a sense of inclusivity on campus, as well as creating an environment that is free of barriers for students living with disabilities of various types. Students with disabilities—as listed under SAS’s Revised Policy on Academic Accommodation for Student with Disabilities in accordance to the Ontario Human Rights Code—may include, but are not limited to those of an academic, physical, or psychological and emotional nature.
As a student with accessibility needs, a fifth-year sociology major (who has asked to remain anonymous) has expressed that, in terms of accommodation, everything that was offered to him in high school and more has been made available to him. “There was a lot of support [from SAS …] and any sort of major issues, they’ve tried to get accommodations. The university does a really good job at approaching issues, and relatively fast.”
Although the university continues to promote constitutional equality for all of the members of the Guelph community, there were a few problems for the student concerning the school’s main student governing body and receiving drug plan coverage. The CSA is in charge of allocating student health and dental plan funding, which covers the cost of the majority of most medications that legally require a prescription.
Under the student health plan, a maximum of $5,000 is accessible to students per benefit year, although, these funds are limited to pharmaceuticals listed in the Canadian drug formulary, and dispensing fees are not covered. The student, who medicates using medical marijuana and is licensed with a registered producer approved through Health Canada, approached the CSA in order to discuss drug coverage options available to him due to the significant cost of therapy. Since medical marijuana is not currently listed under the formulary, the student submitted a drug exception form in hopes of receiving extended coverage, but was denied.
“I was approaching the CSA to kind of find a solution […] The CSA funds an emergency health and dental bursary, which is about $15,000. And that’s meant for things that sort of fall outside of normal health care coverage […] I applied to this, however, I was denied because my circumstances were not deemed to be an emergency. And a review for the policy of that bursary, and even just discussion of covering the medical marijuana under the drug plan—making an exception in this case—that requires the health and dental plan committee to meet; which, as of my understanding, they have not this past year. There’s supposed to be a mandatory meeting, I was informed, which should have occurred before the end of March, but has yet to occur.”
Although the student has checked in every so often, he explained that the CSA has failed to contact or keep him updated. “So up until that point, I had a lot of support from the CSA […] They actually really encouraged me to apply to that bursary because at least that would be an immediate thing. I just wasn’t deemed eligible because of the criteria,” he said, expanding further upon his eligibility. “The phrasing of the bursary policy was […] interpreted as being used for emergency purposes, and since [my purposes] were an ongoing situation, they deemed that I wasn’t eligible.”
In regards to the undergraduate drug and health plan, student accessibility, as well as how the CSA has handled this situation, he has stated that he hopes that the CSA will make improvements through providing more opportunities to present a case and have the individual situations of students actually reviewed. “I think that would be a good step, and hopefully that happens in the future.”
The student is currently in the process of being matched with a service dog and has high hopes for applying to law school in the fall. He made a final statement concerning the importance of self-advocacy by giving advice to students who may be in a similar situation: “Keep pursuing options. It can be difficult at times, and it can be really frustrating, but it’s just staying on that horse—to keep advocating for yourself to get the accommodations that you need. That’s important.”