Simply put, any medical expense or device that you purchase for a medical condition OR that you have a prescription or Doctor’s note for, is covered. Common expenses such as (for over-the-counter medication, please skip to below the table):

Medical expense	Eligible expense?	Prescription needed?	Certification in writing needed?
Acoustic coupler	Eligible	Yes	No
Air conditioner	Eligible	Yes	No
Air filter, cleaner, or purifier	Eligible	Yes	No
Altered auditory feedback devices	Eligible	Yes	No
Ambulance service	Eligible	No	No
Animals	Eligible	No	No
Artificial eye or limb	Eligible	No	No
Assisted breathing devices	Eligible	No	No
Athletic or fitness club fees	Not eligible	N/A	N/A
Attendant care expenses	See details	See details	See details
Audible signal devices	Eligible	Yes	No
Baby breathing monitor	Eligible	Yes	No
Bathroom aids	Eligible	Yes	No
Birth control devices (non-prescription)	Not eligible	N/A	N/A
Bliss symbol boards	Eligible	Yes	No
Blood coagulation monitors	Eligible	Yes	No
Blood pressure monitors	Not eligible	N/A	N/A
Bone conduction receiver	Eligible	No	No
Bone marrow transplant	Eligible	No	No
Braces for a limb	Eligible	No	No
Braille note-taker devices	Eligible	Yes	No
Braille printers, synthetic speech systems, large print-on-screen devices	Eligible	Yes	No
Breast prosthesis	Eligible	Yes	No
Cancer treatment	Eligible	No	No
Catheters, catheter trays, tubing or other products	Eligible	No	No
Certificates	Eligible	No	No
Chair	Eligible	Yes	No
Cochlear implant	Eligible	No	No
Computer peripherals	Eligible	Yes	No
Cosmetic surgery before March 5, 2010	Eligible	No	No
Cosmetic surgery after March 4, 2010	See details	See details	See details
Crutches	Eligible	No	No
Deaf-blind intervening services	Eligible	No	No
Dental services	Eligible	No	No
Dentures and dental implants	Eligible	No	No
Devices or software	Eligible	Yes	No
Diapers or disposable briefs	Eligible	No	No
Diaper services	Not eligible	N/A	N/A
Doctor – see Medical services provides by qualified medical practitioners	Eligible	No	No
Driveway access	Eligible	No	No
Drugs and medical devices bought under Health Canada’s Special Access Program	Eligible	No	No
Elastic support hose	Eligible	Yes	No
Electrolysis	Eligible	No	No
Electronic bone healing devices	Eligible	Yes	No
Electronic speech synthesizers	Eligible	Yes	No
Electrotherapy devices	Eligible	Yes	No
Environment control system (computerized or electronic)	Eligible	Yes	No
Extremity pump	Eligible	Yes	No
Fertility-related procedures	See details	See details	See details
Furnace	Eligible	Yes	No
Gluten-free products	See details	See details	See details
Group home – see Attendant care or care in a facility	See details	See details	See details
Health plan premiums paid by an employer and not included in your income	Not eligible	N/A	N/A
Hearing aids	Eligible	No	No
Heart monitoring devices	Eligible	Yes	No
Hospital bed	Eligible	Yes	No
Hospital services	Eligible	No	No
Ileostomy and colostomy pads	Eligible	No	No
Infusion pump	Eligible	Yes	No
Injection pen (such as an insulin pen)	Eligible	Yes	No
Insulin or substitutes	Eligible	Yes	No
In vitro fertility program	Eligible	No	No
Kidney machine	Eligible	No	No
Laboratory procedures or services	Eligible	Yes	No
Large print-on-screen devices	Eligible	Yes	No
Laryngeal speaking aids	Eligible	No	No
Laser eye surgery	Eligible	No	No
Lift or transportation equipment (power-operated)	Eligible	Yes	No
Liver extract injections	Eligible	Yes	No
Medical marihuana	Eligible	No	No
Medical services provided by qualified medical practitioners	Eligible	No	No
Medical services provided outside Canada	Eligible	No	No
Moving expenses	Eligible	No	No
Needles and syringes	Eligible	Yes	No
Note-taking services	Eligible	No	Yes
Nurse	Eligible	No	No
Nursing home – see Attendant care or care in a facility	See details	See details	See details
Optical scanners	Eligible	Yes	No
Organic food	Not eligible	N/A	N/A
Organ transplant	Eligible	No	No
Orthodontic work	Eligible	No	No
Orthopedic shoes, boots, and inserts	Eligible	Yes	No
Osteogenesis stimulator (inductive coupling)	Eligible	Yes	No
Oxygen and oxygen tent	Eligible	Yes	No
Oxygen concentrator	Eligible	No	No
Pacemakers	Eligible	Yes	No
Page-turner devices	Eligible	Yes	No
Personalized therapy plan	Eligible	Yes	No
Personal response systems such as Lifeline an Health Line Services	Not eligible	N/A	N/A
Phototherapy equipment	Eligible	No	No
Premiums paid to private health services plans	Eligible	No	No
Pre-natal and post-natal treatments	Eligible	No	No
Prescription drugs and medications	Eligible	Yes	No
Pressure pulse therapy devices	Eligible	Yes	No
Provincial and territorial plans	Not eligible	N/A	N/A
Reading services	Eligible	No	Yes
Real-time captioning	Eligible	No	No
Rehabilitative therapy	Eligible	No	No
Renovation or construction expenses	Eligible	No	No
Respite care expenses – see Attendant care or care in a facility	See details	See details	See details
School for persons with an impairment in physical or mental functions	Eligible	No	Yes
Scooter	Eligible	No	No
Sign-language interpretation services	Eligible	No	No
Spinal brace	Eligible	No	No
Standing devices	Eligible	Yes	No
Supplements and vitamins	Not eligible	N/A	N/A
Talking textbooks	Eligible	Yes	No
Teletypewriters	Eligible	Yes	No
Television closed caption decoders	Eligible	Yes	No
Tests	Eligible	Yes	No
Therapy	Eligible	Yes	No
Training	Eligible	No	No
Travel expenses (less than 40km)	Not eligible	N/A	N/A
Travel expenses (at least 40 km)	See details	See details	See details
Travel expenses (at least 80 km)	See details	See details	See details
Travel expenses (outside of Canada)	See details	See details	See details
Treatment centre	Eligible	No	Yes
Truss for hernia	Eligible	No	No
Tutoring services	Eligible	No	Yes
Vaccines	Eligible	Yes	No
Van	Eligible	No	No
Vehicle modification	Eligible	Yes	No
Vision devices	Eligible	Yes	No
Visual or vibratory signaling device	Eligible	Yes	No
Vitamin B12	Eligible	Yes	No
Vitamins – see Supplements and vitamins	Not eligible	N/A	N/A
Voice recognition software	Eligible	No	Yes
Volume control feature (additional)	Eligible	Yes	No
Walking aids	Eligible	Yes	No
Water filter, cleaner, or purifier	Eligible	Yes	No
Wheelchairs and wheelchair carriers	Eligible	No	No
Whirlpool bath treatments	Eligible	No	No
Wigs	Eligible	Yes	No

Over the Counter Medication:

Generally speaking, over-the-counter medication (or OTC), is covered; however, there are caveats on these expenses. At least 90% of more of your claim must be made up of an eligible expense as outlined above. The remaining 10% of the claim can be OTC medication:

All or substantially all generally means 90% or more. Therefore, in most cases, 90% or more of the premiums paid under a plan have to be for coverage of medical expenses that are eligible for the METC.

For example, Company ABC pays $100 a month for its group employee insurance plan. This $100 premium is based on the following:

• $70 relates to coverage for prescription drugs that an employee lawfully buys, as prescribed by a medical practitioner and recorded by a pharmacist;
• $20 relates to coverage for dental services paid to a dentist;
• $8 relates to coverage for medical tests such as electrocardiograms, urine analysis, and x-rays; and
• $2 relates to coverage for non-prescription vitamins.

Since the first three items are eligible for the METC and total more than 90% of the entire premium, the CRA would consider the plan to be a PHSP (assuming that all other conditions have been met).

How do I register?

Registration is simple. Fill out this form and send it in with proof of payment (we charge $75.00 for all new companies, current bookkeeping clients will have their registration fee waived). Payment can be sent via Interac eTransfer to: info@avfs.tax.