Blue Cross medical equipment coverage
Private Blue Cross coverage varies plan by plan, and your member plan booklet controls what is covered. As a rule, rentals usually need a prescription and purchases generally need preapproval and two itemized quotes from separate equipment providers.
We prepare your quote, the receipts and the product documents your plan asks for, and submit where the plan supports it. What we never do is promise a plan will pay.
What Blue Cross plans may cover, and what to confirm first
No two plans are alike. The booklet, not this page and not us, decides.
Often part of a plan
What plans commonly include, always subject to your booklet.
- Rental of prescribed medical equipment, usually with a prescription
- Purchase of covered equipment, generally with preapproval first
- Portions of the cost up to a plan limit or percentage
- Coordination with another plan you hold, where the rules provide for it
Confirm before ordering
The four things that decide a Blue Cross equipment claim.
- Your member plan booklet: what is covered, at what share, to what limit
- Preapproval before a purchase, which plans generally require
- Two itemized quotes from separate equipment providers, which plans generally ask for with a purchase request
- Coordination-of-benefits evidence, where another plan is primary
What needs to happen before you order
Four steps, and the first one happens with your booklet or plan administrator.
Read the plan booklet
Find the medical equipment section: covered items, rental versus purchase rules, and the share and limits. The booklet is the contract; everything else is a request against it.
Get the prescription if renting
Rentals usually need a prescription. Purchases generally need preapproval instead, so tell us which route you are taking and we prepare for the right one.
We prepare one complete itemized quote
For purchase requests, plans generally ask for two itemized quotes from separate equipment providers. We prepare one complete itemized quote with the product documents; you obtain the second quote from another equipment provider if your plan requires it.
Preapproval, then order
With preapproval in hand the order proceeds, and we provide the receipt and product documents for the claim, submitting where your plan supports it.
What documents should you have ready?
The five your plan is most likely to ask for.
Westin prepares
- One complete itemized quote with product documents
- Receipts and product documents for the claim
- Submission where your plan supports it
- Delivery, setup and service once approved
Your plan decides
- Whether the item is a covered benefit
- Preapproval for purchases
- The reimbursable share and any limit
- Coordination with any primary plan
Common Blue Cross equipment questions
If yours is not here, call us on 905 451-7743, or check your member portal.
Does Blue Cross cover medical equipment?
It depends entirely on your plan. Many private and extended health plans cover some medical equipment, but the covered items, the share and the limits differ plan by plan, and your member plan booklet is what controls. Read it, or ask your plan administrator, before you commit to a purchase.
Do I need preapproval to buy?
Generally yes. Purchases usually require preapproval before you order, while rentals usually need a prescription instead. Ask us which applies to your item and route; we prepare the paperwork either way.
Why two itemized quotes?
Plans generally ask for two itemized quotes from separate equipment providers with a purchase request so they can see the item and price are reasonable. We prepare one complete itemized quote with full product documents; the second comes from another equipment provider if your plan requires it.
Do you bill Blue Cross directly?
Where a plan supports provider billing we can submit for you, but direct billing is not universal across plans, and we do not promise it. What we do is hand you a complete claim package: quotes, receipts and product documents.
Is this the same as IFHP or Veterans Affairs coverage?
No. Medavie Blue Cross also administers the federal Interim Federal Health Program and Veterans Affairs claims, but those are public programs with their own eligibility rules. This page is about private Blue Cross plans you or an employer hold. See IFHP coverage and Veterans Affairs coverage for those programs.
What if my plan refuses the item?
Then we look at the other routes honestly: public programs such as ADP or March of Dimes HVMP, renting instead of buying, or the federal Home Accessibility Tax Credit for eligible renovations. A refusal from one plan is rarely the end of the options.
Tell us your plan, and we will prepare the package.
Book a free assessment. We identify what your plan needs, prepare the quotes and documents, and submit where the plan supports it.
Read the official rules
* Private Blue Cross coverage is a contract between the member and the plan. Covered items, preapproval rules, quote requirements and claim decisions belong to the plan, and only your member plan booklet and the insurer can confirm what applies. Nothing on this page is a promise of coverage or reimbursement.