Eligible Expenses

Eligible Expenditure Summary

Coast Mountain Benefits Private Health Service Plans (PHSP) offer more allowable expenses than a traditional dental and health care plan, as ours can be used to fund any health, dental or vision related expense that is deductible on your personal tax return.

Eligible Expenses PDF Summary

The details

The following list shows a broad range of medical, dental and vision care expenses covered under your PHSP. This list includes but is not limited to the following:

For questions or additional information, please contact us, refer to the Canadian Income Tax Act Section
118.2⁽²⁾ or consult with your tax practitioner.

Generally, any payment made to a medical practitioner ⁽¹⁾, dentist ⁽¹⁾ or nurse ⁽¹⁾ or a public or licensed private hospital for medical or dental services.

Qualified Medical Practitioners can include the following (NOTE: practitioners must be regulated by the Province or territory in which they perform services):

For specific listing by province please see CRA Authorized Medical Practitioners by Province (for example a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner is only allowed in British Columbia):

Qualified Medical Practioners by Profession⁽¹⁾

• acupuncturist (AB,BC,NL,ON,QC only)
• anesthetist
• audiologist
• chiropractor
• dental hygienist
• denturist, dental mechanic, denturologist
• dermatologist
• dietician
• gynecologist
• homeopath (Ontario only)
• kinesiologist (Ontario only)
• licensed or registered practical nurse
• midwife
• naturopath (AB,BC,MB,NS,ON,SK only)
• neurologist
• obstetrician
• occupational therapist
• ophthalmologist
• optician
• optometrist
• orthodontist
• orthopedist
• pediatrician
• physician
• physiotherapist
• podiatrist
• psychiatrist
• psychologist (PhD only)
• registered massage therapist (BC,NB,NL,ON only)
• registered nurse or nurse practioner
• registered nutritionist (AB,NB,NS,QC only)
• registered social worker
• speech language pathologist
• surgeon
• traditional Chinese medicine practitioner (BC, ON only)

Non-Qualified Medical Practioners and Expenses

• any un-regulated medical practitioner
• athletic therapists
• doula
• holistic health practitioner
• medical excersize therapist
• osteopath
• personal trainer
• reflexologist
• registered clinical counsellors
• reiki healer/practitioner
• yoga therapist

The following listings of expenses are summarized alphabetically on the CRA website Click Here for CRA webpage "Which medical expenses are eligible?"

Eligible Medical Expenses include the purchase price or, where applicable, the rental charge or other expenses (for example, maintenance, repairs, supplies) related to the following:

• aid to hearing
• ambulance
• artificial eye
• artificial kidney machine
• artificial limb
• bone marrow or organ transplants
• brace for a limb
• crutches
• deaf-blind intervening services
• dental braces, if required to correct a misaligned bite
• dental veneers to correct decayed or misaligned teeth
• dentures
• drugs and devices under Health Canada Special Access Program
• gluten free food costs (restrictions apply)
• guide dogs and related expenses
• ileostomy or a colostomy pad
• incontinence products (diapers,disposable briefs, catheters, catheter trays,tubing and other products)
• iron lung
• laryngeal speaking aid
• laser eye surgery
• note taking services
• oxygen concentrator
• phototherapy equipment for psoriasis or other skin disorders
• private health services plan premiums, including health plans like
  Pacific Blue Cross, Greensheilds, Manulife, or similar plan that covers medical dental and or vision expenses only. NOTE Plans that also include life, critical illness, long term disability or some other type of insurance may not be eligible.  Contact Us for more information. 
• reading services
• rehabilitative therapy for hearing or speech loss
• rocking bed for poliomyelitis victims
• sign language interpretation services or real-time captioning services
• spinal brace
• truss for a hernia
• voice recognition software
• wheel chair

Eligible Medical Expenses that must be prescribed by a medical practitioner

• birth control pills⁽²⁾
• corrective contact lenses⁽³⁾
• eyeglasses⁽³⁾
• equipment to administer oxygen
• insulin
• liver extract injectible for pernicious anaemia
• laboratory, radiological or other diagnostic procedure (e.g. MRI, X-ray, bone scan,
  blood tests, etc.)⁽⁵⁾
• oxygen
• oxygen tent
• prescription drugs ⁽²⁾⁽⁵⁾
• therapy for disabled person⁽⁴⁾
• tutoring services (restrictions apply)
• vitamin B12 for pernicious anaemia

Other Eligible Medical Expenses with restrictions and significant documentation requirements (Consult your tax advisor.)

For a patient with:

Mental or physical impairment:

• full-time attendant care
• attendant care at home
• full-time nursing care home
• school or institution care

Mobility or physical impairment:

• training courses for care of disabled person
• transportation services
• travel expenses
• home renovations or alterations
• home construction
• moving expenses
• driveway alterations
• van adapted for wheelchair

Eligible expenses prescribed by a medical practitioner and meeting conditions as set out below:

• wig made to order for individuals who have suffered abnormal hair loss owing to disease, medical treatment or accident;
• needle or syringe designed to be used for the purpose of giving an injection;
• devices designed exclusively for use by an individual suffering from a severe chronic respiratory ailment or a severe chronic immune system disregulation, but not including an air conditioner, humidifier, dehumidifier, heat pump or heat or air exchanger;
• air or water filter or purifier for use by an individual who is suffering from a severe chronic respiratory ailment or a severe chronic immune system disregulation to cope with or overcome that ailment or disregulation;
• electric or sealed combustion furnace acquired to replace a furnace that is neither an electric furnace nor a sealed combustion furnace, where the replacement is necessary solely because of a severe chronic respiratory ailment or a severe chronic immune system disregulation;
• air conditioner acquired for use by an individual to cope with the individual's severe chronic ailment, disease or disorder, to the extent of the lesser of $1,000 and 50% of the amount paid for the air conditioner;
• device or equipment designed to pace or monitor the heart of an individual who suffers from heart disease;
• orthopaedic shoe or boot and an insert for a shoe or boot made to order for an individual in accordance with a prescription to overcome a physical disability of the individual;
• power-operated guided chair installation, for an individual, that is designed to be used solely in a stairway;
• mechanical device or equipment designed to be used to assist an individual to enter or leave a bathtub or shower or to get on or off a toilet;
• hospital bed including such attachments thereto as may have been included in a prescription therefor;
• teletypewriter or similar device, including a telephone ringing indicator, that enables a deaf or mute individual to make and receive telephone calls;
• optical scanner or similar device designed to be used by a blind individual to enable him to read print;
• device or software designed to be used by a blind individual, or an individual with a severe learning disability, to enable the individual to read print;
• power-operated lift or transportation equipment designed exclusively for use by, or for, a disabled individual to allow the individual access to different areas of a building or to assist the individual to gain access to a vehicle or to place the individual's wheelchair in or on a vehicle;
• device designed exclusively to enable an individual with a mobility impairment to operate a vehicle;
• device or equipment, including a synthetic speech system, Braille printer and large print-on-screen device, designed exclusively to be used by a blind individual in the operation of a computer;
• electronic speech synthesizer that enables a mute individual to communicate by use of a portable keyboard;
• device to decode special television signals to permit the script of a program to be visually displayed;
• a visual or vibratory signaling device, including a visual fire alarm indicator, for an individual with a hearing impairment;
• device designed to be attached to infants diagnosed as being prone to sudden infant death syndrome in order to sound an alarm if the infant ceases to breathe;
• infusion pump, including disposable peripherals, used in the treatment of diabetes or a device designed to enable a diabetic to measure the diabetic's blood sugar level;
• electronic or computerized environmental control system designed exclusively for the use of an individual with a severe and prolonged mobility restriction;
• extremity pump or elastic support hose designed exclusively to relieve swelling caused by chronic lymphedema;
• inductive coupling osteogenesis stimulator for treating nonunion of fractures or aiding in bone fusion;
• talking textbook for use by an individual with a perceptual disability in connection with the individual's enrolment at an educational institution in Canada, or a designated educational institution;
• Bliss symbol board, or similar device, designed to be used to help an individual who has a speech impairment communicate by selecting the symbols or spelling out words;
• Braille note-taker designed to be used by a blind individual to allow them to take notes (that can be read back to them or printed or displayed in Braille) with the help of a keyboard; and
• page turner, designed to be used by an individual who has a severe and prolonged impairment that markedly restricts their ability to use their arms or hands to turn the pages of a book or other bound document.
• altered auditory feedback device designed to be used by an individual who has a speech impairment;
• electrotherapy device designed to be used by an individual with a medical condition or by an individual who has a severe mobility impairment;
• standing device designed to be used by an individual who has a severe mobility impairment to undertake standing therapy; and
• pressure pulse therapy device designed to be used by an individual who has a balance disorder.

⁽¹⁾ Medical practitioners must be certified according to their governing body and authorized to practice in accordance with the laws of the province. A medical practitioner, dentist, pharmacist, nurse or optometrist means a person who is authorized to practice as such according to the following laws:

   (a) for a service rendered to an individual, the laws of the jurisdiction in which the service is rendered;

   (b) for a certificate issued for an individual, the laws of the jurisdiction in which the individual resides or of a province; and

   (c) for a prescription issued to an individual, the laws of the jurisdiction in which the individual resides, of a province or of the jurisdiction in which the prescription is filled

⁽²⁾ considered to qualify if a medical practitioner has prescribed and a pharmacist has recorded the prescription

⁽³⁾ as prescribed by a medical practitioner or optometrist

⁽⁴⁾ administered under the general supervision of, a medical doctor or a psychologist, in the case of mental impairment, and a medical doctor or an occupational therapist, in the case of a physical impairment

⁽⁵⁾ as prescribed by a medical practitioner or dentist