Veterans Affairs medical equipment coverage
Through Treatment Benefits, Program of Choice 13, Veterans Affairs may provide approved equipment that responds to an assessed functional health need: hospital beds, wheelchairs, lifts and related home adaptations among the examples.
Eligibility, the benefit-grid item, and whether a prescription, a recommendation or preauthorization is needed all depend on your VAC coverage. We prepare the quote and product documents and verify the authorization before anything is supplied.
What POC 13 may cover, and what to confirm first
The benefit grid decides the item, the documentation and the preauthorization threshold. The assessment of your functional health need comes before any request.
May be considered
Approved equipment responding to an assessed functional health need, as the POC 13 policy describes.
- Hospital beds
- Wheelchairs
- Lifts, including patient and ceiling lifts
- Related home adaptations tied to the assessed need
- Other benefit-grid items for your coverage
Confirm before ordering
What stands between a request and an approval.
- Your VAC eligibility and coverage, including the VAC Healthcare Card
- The exact benefit-grid item for the equipment
- Prescription or recommendation requirements for that item
- Preauthorization thresholds, which depend on the grid and the request
- Billing arrangements, which depend on registered-provider status and the authorization
What needs to happen before you order
Four steps, and each one is checked against the benefit grid.
Confirm VAC eligibility
Your VAC Healthcare Card and coverage determine which benefits apply. Without eligible coverage, POC 13 does not apply, and we will point you at the programs that might.
Assessment and prescription
A health professional assesses the functional need and issues the prescription or recommendation the benefit-grid item requires.
Preauthorization where required
Where the grid sets a preauthorization threshold, the request goes to VAC, processed through Medavie Blue Cross, before the equipment is supplied.
Authorization, then supply
We verify the authorization with the claim, then deliver, install and service the equipment. Registered providers may bill VAC directly where the authorization allows.
What documents should you have ready?
The five that carry a POC 13 request.
Westin prepares
- Equipment options for the assessed need
- The itemized quote and product documents
- Verification of the authorization before supply
- Delivery, installation and service
Veterans Affairs decides
- Eligibility and the benefit-grid item
- Whether preauthorization is required
- The approved amount
- Claim processing through Medavie Blue Cross
Common Veterans Affairs equipment questions
If yours is not here, call us on 905 451-7743, or contact VAC through your usual channel.
Who qualifies for equipment through VAC?
Eligibility depends on your Veterans Affairs coverage, shown by your VAC Healthcare Card and client record. Treatment Benefits and POC 13 apply to eligible recipients; we cannot assess eligibility for you, but we can tell you what to ask VAC and prepare everything that follows.
What is POC 13?
Program of Choice 13 is the VAC benefit category for equipment, home adaptations and vehicle modifications under Treatment Benefits. It may provide approved equipment responding to an assessed functional health need; hospital beds, wheelchairs, lifts and related home adaptations are among the policy’s examples.
Is a prescription always needed?
It depends on the benefit-grid item. Some items need a prescription, others a recommendation from an approved health professional, and higher-cost requests may need preauthorization. We check the grid for your item before anything is ordered, so the paperwork matches the requirement.
Does VAC cover home modifications?
Related home adaptations can be considered under POC 13 when they respond to the assessed functional health need. That is narrower than a general renovation program: the adaptation has to be tied to the assessed need and the equipment it supports.
Can you bill VAC directly?
Registered providers may bill VAC directly, and claims are processed by Medavie Blue Cross. Whether that applies to your request depends on the item, the authorization and our registration status for it, so we verify before supply rather than promise.
Can VAC and ADP both pay for the same item?
No. The same item cannot be concurrently covered by ADP and Group A veteran benefits. Where VAC coverage applies to the need, it comes first; ADP serves needs no other program covers. Tell us which route applies and we will keep the paperwork single-tracked.
Tell us what VAC covers, and we will prepare the rest.
Bring your coverage details and the assessed need. We prepare the quote and product documents, verify the authorization, and only then supply.
Read the official rules
* Treatment Benefits and Program of Choice 13 are administered by Veterans Affairs Canada, with claims processed by Medavie Blue Cross. The benefit grid, item coverage, documentation and preauthorization rules change without notice, and only VAC determines what it will approve. Nothing on this page is an approval or a guarantee of coverage. This page covers VAC coverage specifically; it is separate from the Interim Federal Health Program and from private Blue Cross plans, which Medavie also administers.