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Help paying for equipment

Funding programs in Nova Scotia for hospital beds, mattresses, lifts and cushions

Before you pay, check the health benefits that cover the person who needs the equipment. Start with where they have worked, and where their spouse or common-law partner has worked. Then ask the programs in Nova Scotia about a powered mattress, a hospital bed, a lift and slings, or positioning cushions.

Help paying for equipment: where to startOpen the worksheetWorkplace and retiree plans

How to read this page

We can’t tell you which program will pay. This page shows you where to ask, and what to ask.

It lists programs that help pay for equipment, and the public programs you may need to go through first.

  • Listed in its own document means we read the program’s own page or document. The entry says what it names, in its words where the type matters.
  • Worth asking means the program exists and may help, but we have not established what it covers. The entry gives who it is for and its official link.
  • Other help with costs covers home changes, travel, vehicles, taxes, work and local service clubs. Most of these do not pay for a mattress, a hospital bed, a lift or a cushion.

The labels show the equipment a program’s document names. A program naming a kind of equipment does not mean a particular product is covered: the program decides. A mattress and an overlay are different things, and so are a bed and its mattress, so ask about the exact equipment your clinician recommends.

  • Powered mattress or surface
  • Pressure or therapeutic mattress
  • Mattress overlay
  • Hospital bed
  • Lift
  • Sling
  • Positioning

Private insurance and workplace plans are on their own page: workplace and retiree plans. Start there if the person, or their spouse or common-law partner, has ever had benefits through work.

Programs to ask in Nova Scotia

  • Listed in its own document

    Health Equipment Loan Program (HELP): Community Bed Loan

    • Pressure or therapeutic mattress
    • Hospital bed

    Nova Scotia residents with a valid Nova Scotia Health Card who live in the community and meet the program’s criteria, as decided by a Care Coordinator.

    The program lends a fully electric bed, a “foam pressure reduction mattress” and a set of bed rails, at no cost. Its page and policy do not list a powered mattress or an overlay.

    Call Continuing Care for an assessment by a Care Coordinator, who arranges the bed with the Canadian Red Cross if you are eligible.

    Official source: novascotia.caChecked November 11, 2026

  • Listed in its own document

    Home Lift Program

    • Lift
    • Sling

    People who receive home care services from a home care agency. It does not apply to people living in long-term care.

    The program lends a floor lift or a free-standing lift, with a hoist, battery and one sling. The fact sheet says there is no fee for the program.

    An occupational therapist or physiotherapist assesses the need for the lift. Contact your Nova Scotia Health Care Coordinator.

    Official source: novascotia.caChecked November 11, 2026

  • Listed in its own document

    Employment Support and Income Assistance (ESIA)

    People who receive income assistance in Nova Scotia.

    The medical equipment policy is open-ended: it covers rental or purchase of medical equipment “such as, but not limited to” mobility aids, braces, CPAP machines and hearing aids. It does not name a hospital bed, a pressure mattress or a lift.

    Prior approval is required. A doctor or medical practitioner must document the need, other coverage is used first, and it must be the most economical option.

    Official source: novascotia.caRevised September 23, 2026Checked November 11, 2026

  • Listed in its own document

    Workers’ Compensation Board of Nova Scotia

    Workers with a WCB Nova Scotia claim.

    WCB’s coverage page says standard bedding systems are not covered. It says specialized bedding systems, “to treat things like pressure ulcers”, may be considered when a service provider recommends one for a specific medical need. It does not say what kind of bedding system.

    Ask your case worker what applies and whether you need pre-approval.

    Official source: wcb.ns.caLast updated October 30, 2026Checked November 11, 2026

Worth asking in Nova Scotia

  • Worth asking

    Disability Support Program

    Children, youth and adults with intellectual disabilities, long-term mental illness and physical disabilities who take part in the program.

    We have not established what it covers. Ask it about the exact equipment your clinician recommends.

    Official source: novascotia.caChecked November 11, 2026

  • Worth asking

    Special Needs funding for long-term care residents

    Only residents who were living in a Nova Scotia long-term care home on December 31, 2004, were receiving social assistance then, and chose to keep this eligibility.

    We have not established what it covers. Ask it about the exact equipment your clinician recommends.

    Official source: novascotia.caChecked November 11, 2026

  • Worth asking

    Direct Family Support for Children (DFSC)

    Nova Scotia families with a child under 19 living at home who has a qualifying intellectual or significant physical disability, with net income within the program’s guidelines.

    Its policy lists medical equipment as a special need it can fund, when an occupational therapist, physiotherapist or doctor has assessed and recommended it. Ask about the exact equipment your clinician recommends.

    Official source: novascotia.caChecked November 12, 2026

  • Worth asking

    Easter Seals Nova Scotia: Adaptive Support Fund

    Nova Scotian individuals and families facing the cost of adaptive supports.

    We have not established what it covers. Ask it about the exact equipment your clinician recommends.

    Applications were closed when read on November 12, 2026; its page expects them to re-open in April 2027.

    Official source: easterseals.ns.caChecked November 12, 2026

  • Worth asking

    Auto insurance accident benefits (Section B) in Nova Scotia

    People injured in an automobile accident who are insured under a Nova Scotia auto policy.

    The regulation names no equipment. It covers “services and supplies” that both the person’s physician and the insurer’s medical advisor find essential, up to $50,000 within four years. Ask the insurer about the exact equipment your clinician recommends.

    Official source: novascotia.caUnofficial consolidation, amended to N.S. Reg. 208/2026Checked November 12, 2026

Canada-wide programs that also apply in Nova Scotia

Details for each are under Canada-wide programs.

Long-term care in Nova Scotia

  • Listed in its own document

    HELP Specialized Equipment Program (long-term care)

    • Pressure or therapeutic mattress
    • Mattress overlay
    • Hospital bed
    • Sling

    Residents of a licensed or approved long-term care facility. It is not available to home care clients.

    The covered equipment list has “specialized mattresses and accessories”, resident-specific slings and specialized bariatric beds. It does not say what type a specialized mattress is. The fee table has rows for “Mattress – L.A.A.L”, which the document does not spell out, and “Mattress Overlay”.

    Continuing Care must approve the request, and a monthly fee based on income may apply.

    Official source: novascotia.caGuidelines revised June 1, 2011Checked November 11, 2026

  • Listed in its own document

    Long-term care in Nova Scotia: basic services at no additional charge

    • Lift

    People living in a long-term care facility in Nova Scotia.

    The province’s policy lists the basic services a facility provides at no additional charge. They include supplies and equipment necessary for care, “including the management of skin care”; equipment for the general use of residents, such as mechanical lifts, but not items individualized for one resident; and bedding, including mattresses. It does not name a pressure mattress.

    Official source: novascotia.caResident Charge Policy, effective November 1, 2017Checked November 11, 2026

Other help with costs in Nova Scotia: home changes, travel, taxes and local clubs

Most of these do not pay for a mattress, a hospital bed, a lift or a cushion. A home-adaptation program may name a ceiling lift, and its entry says so. They are here because they can help with other costs of living with a disability.

  • Other help with costs

    Wheelchair Recycling Program

    Children and adults who need a wheelchair, with a net family income within the program’s guidelines.

    Official source: novascotia.caChecked November 11, 2026

  • Other help with costs

    Seniors Community Wheelchair Loan Program

    Nova Scotia residents 65 or older, assessed by an occupational therapist or physiotherapist, whose household income is in the program’s lowest income category and who have no other coverage.

    Official source: novascotia.caChecked November 11, 2026

  • Other help with costs

    Seniors Care Grant

    Low-income Nova Scotians aged 65 or older, for household services and home heating.

    Official source: novascotia.caChecked November 12, 2026

  • Other help with costs

    Philae Shriners: transportation assistance

    Children up to 18 in Nova Scotia or Prince Edward Island who must travel for treatment at the IWK or the Nova Scotia Rehab Centre for certain conditions.

    Official source: philaeshriners.caChecked November 12, 2026

Canada-wide: The War Amps, Lions Clubs, Home Accessibility Tax Credit, Excise gasoline tax refund, Enabling Accessibility Fund, On-Reserve Residential Rehabilitation Assistance Program, Kin Canada (Kinsmen and Kinette clubs), Knights of Columbus, Disability supports deduction (Canada Revenue Agency), GST/HST on medical and assistive devices (Canada Revenue Agency), Disability tax credit (Canada Revenue Agency), Canada Disability Benefit, Canada Pension Plan disability benefit, Hope Air, Canadian Cancer Society: travel and lodging help.

Private insurance in Nova Scotia: see workplace and retiree plans, which also covers the insurers.

If a program is missing

This list is not complete. If a program is missing, ask your clinician or your local home and community care service which programs apply, and ask each one the same three questions.

Back to help paying for equipment, for the three questions, the question to copy and the worksheet.

Already have Evergreen equipment?

For service or repairs, contact the company or care home that supplied it. Worried about the person’s health? Call their nurse or doctor, or 911 in an emergency. Do not wait for a reply from Evergreen.