Challenges made to Ontario Disability Support Program’s medical transport reimbursement policy

The Income Security Advocacy Centre and Aboriginal Legal Services challenged the current Medical Transportation policy on behalf of a recipient of the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) on Sept. 19. The challenge, made in divisional court, was that for many ODSP recipients the cost of living and cost to travel to medical treatment is already unaffordable under the current level of benefits. The key issue for the court to rule on was whether the original decision by the independent Social Benefits Tribunal – which had rejected the complaint to increase the mileage rate — should be allowed to stand or not.

The Ontario Divisional Court has reserved its judgement.

Under the ODSP, if a recipient spends $15 or more a month on medical transportation, he or she may qualify for reimbursement to cover these costs under the Mandatory Special Necessities benefit. Medical transportation costs include those for travel to and from a medical appointment with an approved healthcare professional. The cost of transportation may also be covered for attending approved mental health therapy, mental health counselling, or drug or alcohol recovery groups. For those who must travel to medical treatment appointments by personal car, ODSP only provides a mileage rate of 18 cents per kilometre. The mileage rate has stayed the same since 2000, even though the cost of gas has gone up by over 130 percent in the same period. By contrast, the Canada Revenue Agency sets the Ontario mileage rate for travel for medical expenses 55 cents per kilometer for Income Tax purposes.

Nearly 50 percent of ODSP recipients have a diagnosis of mental illness and any changes to ODSP expense reimbursement policies have a significant impact on people with lived experience.

With a mileage rate set so low, ODSP recipients face the choice of foregoing medical treatment or using money they need for food and shelter to cover the cost of travel.

Nearly 50 percent of ODSP recipients have a diagnosis of mental illness and any changes to ODSP expense reimbursement policies have a significant impact on people with lived experience (PWLE). CMHA Ontario, along with other stakeholders, has been working closely with the Ministry of Community and Social Services on making improvements to ODSP policies such as those affecting Medical Transportation.