Hi
I am looking into applying for a phase 3 clinical trial for my medical condition. It would require frequent travel to the US for medical appointments for a period covering abut 6 months.
Is there usually any issues with either LTD or CPP when travelling for clinical trials?
Thanks
CPP has no travel restrictions. For LTD I would coordinate with your claim manager to see if there are any travel restrictions and if there are, to get their approval for medical travel. It will be fine, there might just be need for approval - make sure you get them to email or mail you whatever they say so you have it in writing (or after the conversation email them a summary of what they said).
If you have your master policy, it should state how long you can be out of province. If it says nothing, then there are no specific restrictions. As Caro said, you can call and confirm with your claims manager.
However, before you do that, make sure your participation in this medical trial has written approval from your doctor. The reason I mention this is because I know of an ongoing case where the claimant went ahead with a medocal trial without authorization from their doctor. The insurance company later found out and suspended the claimant’s LTD benefits because they did not believe the treatment under the trial was “reasonable.”
The situation has become more complicated because the claimant’s attending physician is reluctant to write a letter to the insurance company stating that the medical trial is reasonable treatment because it’s outside the standard of care within their provincial medical jurisdiction (or something along those lines).