Cornerstone compromised

Prior to the chan- ges, the special needs regulations also created the possibility of coverage for items or services not explicitly enumerated in the Regulations or in the Policy Manual. [...] The Board would review the request and render an independent assessment of whether the item or service was ‘essential’ or to ‘alleviate pain and suffering.’ One of the critical changes made to the regulations in August 2011 was to restrict available special needs to those defined in the eSiA Regulations and to the 33 items and services listed in the eSiA Policy Manual. [...] In its official announcement of the changes, the government framed these changes as a means to improve the clarity of the guidelines for special needs allowances, to improve fairness in the way that the allotted funds were be- ing distributed, and to provide “consistent access to special needs funding for people on income assistance.”18 However, when the changes were made, there was an outcry from [...] Removed the right to appeal the denial of assistance for items or services that are outside of those listed in the ESIA Regulations and the 33 items/services in the Policy Manual. [...] In addition, while the eSiA Dir- ector does have the power and control to add to the list of allowable spe- cial needs items and services (as long as the item or services is not explicit- ly prohibited by the Regulations), there is nothing in the Act or Regulations that provides a process for applicants to make a case to the Director for addi- tions, or to request a review of a denied item request