Help paying for equipment

Start with where they worked

A workplace or retiree plan may pay for equipment that a government program does not list. So before anything else, ask:

• Where has the person who needs the equipment worked, now or in the past?
• Where has their spouse or common-law partner worked?
• Are they retired, and do they still carry a plan from that employer, or from a union or association?
• For a child: what plans do both parents have?
• Did the need come from a work injury or a vehicle crash? If so, workers’ compensation or the vehicle insurer may be the place to start.

The person who needs the equipment may have equipment benefits through a current employer, a former employer’s retiree plan, a union, or a spouse’s or common-law partner’s plan. It is easy to overlook a plan that has never been used for equipment, especially a retiree plan or a partner’s plan.

Think about every job that came with group benefits, including jobs they have retired from. Governments, school boards, health care employers, police and fire services and many unionized workplaces often have group benefit plans, and some continue into retirement. Having a plan does not mean it covers this equipment, so ask.

Before assuming you must pay yourself, or that a provincial program is the only option, check the benefits that still cover them. Each plan is different, so the only way to know is to ask.

Three questions to start with

1. 1

   Which plans cover the person who needs the equipment?

   Check current employment, retirement and union benefits, including coverage through a spouse or common-law partner. For a child, check both parents’ plans.

2. 2

   Does the plan cover the specific equipment recommended?

   Ask about the actual equipment and what it does, not simply “a mattress” or “a cushion”. An allowance for a “pressure relief mattress” doesn’t always include a powered one, so name alternating pressure and low air loss when you ask.

3. 3

   What must happen before you buy?

   Ask about prescriptions, assessment reports, written approval, reimbursement limits, rental versus purchase, approved suppliers and how the plan works with other funding.

Ask about the exact equipment

Programs and plans can treat similar-sounding equipment differently. Say which one your clinician recommended.

• A mattress or an overlay

  A powered replacement mattress (alternating pressure, low air loss) takes the place of the mattress. An overlay sits on top of one. Ask about the one recommended.

• A bed and its mattress

  A hospital bed and its mattress may be covered separately, or only one of them. Ask about each.

• A lift and its slings

  Ask whether slings come with the lift, and how many.

• Positioning cushions for bed

  Cushions for positioning in bed are not wheelchair cushions. Say which you mean.

The benefits-check worksheet

One page to fill in as you check each plan: who you spoke to, what is covered, and what is needed before you buy. Take it to your clinician or your equipment dealer.

Open the worksheet

Clinicians and dealers are welcome to print it for the people they support. It helps a family explore funding before ruling out the recommended equipment on price.

How an equipment dealer can help

A dealer may be able to give you a written quotation and the product details your plan asks for, help with an application, or bill some programs directly. Dealers differ, so ask yours which of these it offers.

Why it is worth checking: one example

The Public Service Health Care Plan is open to eligible federal public service employees and pensioners, and their eligible dependants. It lists therapeutic mattresses as durable equipment, and the plan’s own article says these mattresses often feature alternating pressure or low air loss. The plan says it is highly recommended to send an estimate before you rent or buy.

The plan sets conditions. It pays 80% of what it considers a reasonable charge for eligible equipment, asks for a prescription, limits a therapeutic mattress to one every five years, and requires that it be for use in a private home. It does not cover equipment used to prevent illness, disease or injury. It also limits payment to the cost of non-motorized equipment unless it is medically proven that the person needs motorized equipment. It does not say how this applies to a powered mattress, so ask when you send the estimate.

That is one plan. Another plan, even one run by the same insurer, may cover more, less or nothing, and each plan decides each claim.

Sources: PSHCP, coverage for hospital beds and therapeutic mattresses and PSHCP, Miscellaneous Expense Benefit. Checked November 11, 2026.

How government programs fit with other coverage

Each program has its own rule about other coverage, so ask early. Two examples:

• Alberta Aids to Daily Living. Alberta says a person may not be eligible when comparable benefits are available from another source, including a private insurance plan. It also does not pay people back for equipment bought before the assessment and authorization. Source: alberta.ca, AADL eligibility. Checked November 11, 2026.
• BC Employment and Assistance. British Columbia requires that all other available resources be considered first, and does not pay for equipment bought without prior approval, except in a life-threatening emergency. Source: gov.bc.ca, medical equipment and devices policy. Checked November 11, 2026.

So check work and partner benefits before you apply, and do not buy first.

Find a program or a plan

Two lists, each with the official link for every entry. They show where a program’s or a plan’s own document names a powered mattress, a hospital bed, a lift, a sling or positioning. A document naming a kind of equipment does not mean a particular product is covered: the program or plan decides.

• Workplace and retiree plans

  Public benefit booklets by kind of job: government, teachers, health care, cities, police and firefighters, unions and large employers. Plus how to check with each insurer.

  See workplace plans

• Programs by province

  Government programs, workers’ compensation, vehicle insurers, First Nations and Inuit and veterans’ programs, charities and equipment loans.

  • Canada-wide
  • British Columbia
  • Alberta
  • Saskatchewan
  • Ontario
  • Nova Scotia
  • New Brunswick
  • Prince Edward Island
  • Newfoundland and Labrador
  • Manitoba

  See all programs

If the person lives in long-term care

Three cases are worth separating.

• The home supplies or buys the equipment. Each province has a rule on what a care home provides. Ask the care team how mattresses, hospital beds and lifts are assessed and supplied. See what your province’s rule says.
• You are thinking of buying it for a resident. First ask the home, in writing, what it supplies and what equipment it will accept. Then ask the plan or program whether equipment used in a care home is eligible. The provincial documents we read do not say whether a home may ask a family to buy equipment, so ask the home what its own rule is.
• The equipment is for use at home. The plans and programs on these pages are mostly written for this case.

Some programs and plans say they are for people living at home. Examples are BC Employment and Assistance, Alberta Aids to Daily Living’s beds and lifters, and the federal Public Service Health Care Plan, whose durable equipment benefit is “for use in the patient’s private residence, unless otherwise specified”. A clinician’s recommendation supports a request. It does not settle whether a plan will pay.

Who decides

The program or insurer decides what it covers. Evergreen can’t tell you whether a plan will pay, and never asks for your policy number or medical history. Your clinician assesses the person and recommends the equipment. Ask the plan which professional must provide the assessment, prescription or supporting letter.

These routes are mostly for equipment used at home. If the person you care for lives in long-term care, talk to the care team first. The care home may be responsible for the equipment.

Next step

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