Funding
Most people qualify for something. Almost nobody qualifies for everything they have been told they might.
Here is what each Ontario program actually covers, what it does not, and which one is worth applying for in your situation. We complete and file the paperwork for the ones that apply.
ADP is the biggest program, and it does not cover most of what people ask about.
Ontario’s Assistive Devices Program funds wheelchairs, approved mobility scooters and seating (cushions and backrests), at up to 75 percent of an approved cost. It is genuinely the most valuable program available, and for a powerchair it can be transformative.
It does not fund stairlifts. It does not fund hospital beds or mattresses. It does not fund ramps, porch lifts, ceiling lifts, patient lifts, lift chairs, rollators, grab bars or door openers. People spend weeks pursuing ADP applications for equipment it was never going to cover, and we would rather tell you that in the first conversation than after.
Wheelchairs and scooters
Manual and power wheelchairs, approved mobility scooters, and seating (cushions and backrests). Up to 75 percent of the approved cost.
Stairlifts and beds
Nor mattresses, ramps, porch lifts, ceiling lifts, patient lifts, lift chairs, rollators, grab bars or door openers. Different programs handle those.
March of Dimes
The Home and Vehicle Modification Program is the usual route for ramps, lifts and structural accessibility work.
The tax credit
Ontario’s Seniors’ Home Safety Tax Credit applies to a wide range of home safety work, including stairlifts and bathroom modifications.
Seven programs, and what each one is actually for.
We are an authorized vendor for all of these, which means we can bill them directly rather than asking you to pay and claim back.
Assistive Devices Program. Wheelchairs, approved scooters and seating. Needs an ADP-registered authorizer, usually an OT or physiotherapist.
Ontario Disability Support Program. Covers approved equipment and supplies for recipients, across a wider range than ADP including beds and lifts.
The Home and Vehicle Modification Program funds ramps, platform lifts, ceiling lifts and structural accessibility work. The route for anything built into a house.
WSIB where the need follows a workplace injury, and Veterans Affairs Programs of Choice for veterans. Both often cover items no other program will.
Detailed program guides
Step-by-step guides for the three programs people ask about most.
We do the paperwork. That is most of the value.
Every one of these programs has forms, supporting documentation requirements, quote formats and a queue. The forms are where applications die, and the queue is where people give up. Neither has anything to do with whether someone qualifies.
As an authorized vendor we complete the forms, format the quotes the way each program wants them, submit, and then follow up until there is a decision. Where a program pays us directly, you pay only the balance, and you know that number before anything is ordered.
The other routes worth knowing
Smaller programs, and the ones people have often never heard of.
Seniors’ Home Safety Tax Credit
Ontario credit covering a range of home safety work including stairlifts, ramps and bathroom modifications. Claimed on your return rather than applied for in advance.
MS Society and Muscular Dystrophy Canada
Both run equipment programs for people with those diagnoses, and both cover items ADP will not. Frequently overlooked.
IFHP and BlueCross
The Interim Federal Health Program for eligible refugees and protected persons, plus private and extended health insurance billing.
Easter Seals and ACSD
For children and young people. Easter Seals Canada and Assistance for Children with Severe Disabilities both fund equipment ADP does not reach.
If nothing applies, say so and we will find another way.
Sometimes the honest answer is that no program covers what you need. When that happens the practical options are renting while circumstances change, buying a used or refurbished unit where we have one, or spreading the cost through a payment plan.
None of those is as good as funding, and we will not pretend otherwise. But they are all better than being told to apply for something that was never going to be approved.
See the funding programs we work with →Questions we get asked about funding
If yours is not here, call us on 905 451-7743. A person answers during business hours.
Does ADP cover stairlifts?
No. Ontario’s Assistive Devices Program does not fund stairlifts, and it never has. For a stairlift the routes worth looking at are the Ontario Seniors’ Home Safety Tax Credit, March of Dimes Canada, WSIB where the need follows a workplace injury, and Veterans Affairs. We will tell you which applies before you spend time on an application.
Does ADP cover hospital beds?
No. Beds are not an ADP category. ODSP, March of Dimes Canada, WSIB, Veterans Affairs, the Interim Federal Health Program and private insurance are the programs that more often apply to a bed.
What does ADP actually cover?
Manual wheelchairs, power wheelchairs, approved mobility scooters and seating (cushions and backrests), at up to 75 percent of an approved cost for an eligible applicant. It is the most valuable program available for mobility equipment specifically, which is exactly why it gets applied to things it does not cover.
Do I need an occupational therapist?
For ADP, yes. An ADP-registered authorizer, usually an occupational therapist or a physiotherapist, has to assess and authorize the device. We work with several across the GTA and can put you in touch. For other programs and for private purchases, no authorizer is needed.
How long does an application take?
It varies by program and by time of year, and no honest supplier will promise you a date. What we can do is submit correctly first time, which is the single biggest factor, and follow up rather than leaving it in a queue. Where waiting is a problem we often rent equipment in the meantime.
Can I apply to more than one program?
Often yes, and sometimes programs stack, with one covering the portion another does not. Some explicitly exclude combining. We will map out what applies in your case rather than have you submit to everything and hope.
Do I have to pay first and claim back?
Not with us, for the programs we are an authorized vendor for. Those pay us directly and you pay only the remaining balance, which we tell you before anything is ordered. Some smaller programs do work on a reimbursement basis and we will flag that at the start.
What if I do not qualify for anything?
Then we will say so. The practical alternatives are renting while circumstances settle, buying a refurbished unit where we have one, or spreading the cost over time. None of those is as good as funding, but all of them are better than a rejected application months later.
Find out what you qualify for
Tell us what you need and your situation, and we will tell you honestly which programs are worth applying for. Including when the answer is none of them.