381P
BACK TO LIFE: CANADA PENSION PLAN AND PRIVATE INSURANCE DISABILITY POLICIES AND PRACTICES AFFECTING PEOPLE LIVING WITH HIV/AIDS (PHAS)
F Ibanez-Carrasco1, G Brown2, J Anderson2, E Zack3
¹Canadian Working Group on HIV and Rehabilitation; British Columbia Persons with AIDS Society, Vancouver, British Columbia; 2Glen Brown and Associates Consulting; 3Canadian Working Group on HIV and Rehabilitation, Toronto, Ontario
Objectives: HIV is a lifelong, episodic disability for many Canadian PHAs. In Canada, paid work is perceived as a significant benchmark of full social participation. Even when wanting to return to work after periods of disability, many PHAs fear potential loss of disability income supports. The Canadian Working Group on HIV and Rehabilitation (CWGHR) commissioned an environmental scan to:
1. Determine policies and practices of Canada Pension Plan Disability Program (CCP-D) and private insurance relevant to PHAs,
2. Describe the lived experience of PHAs accessing them, and
3. Identify areas requiring further research and action on opportunities and challenges to labour force participation.
Methods: A mixed method approach combined a thorough literature review of public and private programs and policies, with key informant interviews with PHAs in and out of the workforce, policy makers and program staff within government (CPP-D) and private insurance industry, AIDS organizations, physicians, vocational rehabilitation specialists and social workers.
Results: PHAs' experiences accessing and maintaining disability income supports vary widely, depending on how recently people became disabled, the severity and episodic nature of their illness, the thoroughness and kind of information provided to assessors, literacy and assertiveness levels, and access to case workers or advocates. Experience with private insurance disability benefits also varies by type of policy. Many PHAs fear potential loss of disability income support; this fear is a barrier to returning to work and active living. Whether based in actual policy or misinformation, such misgivings inhibit many people living with HIV from exploring whatever flexibility their disability insurers may indeed offer.
Conclusions: Further study is required to understand how CPP-D and private insurance disability policies and procedures, and perceptions of them, may inhibit or facilitate return to active living and identify policy and operational strategies to overcome those real and perceptual barriers.