Most Canadian extended health plans — Sun Life, Manulife, Canada Life, Blue Cross, Green Shield Canada and others — reimburse medical-grade compression garments and braces when a doctor has prescribed them. A free Insurance Estimate from us gets your insurer to confirm what it will pay before you spend anything.
Before you start — check what your plan covers
Find out what your plan pays — or whether it covers this at all — before you book an appointment.
Why bother, if the estimate gives exact figures? Timing. Two minutes here tells you whether this benefit is in your plan at all — before you book an appointment and work through the paperwork — and gives you a rough budget to shop against. The estimate comes afterwards and confirms the exact amount.
- Sign in and open Coverage, My Benefits or My Plan. If you cannot find it in the app, check the website — some insurers, Manulife among them, show medical equipment coverage only there, so a blank app screen does not mean you are not covered.
- Find the category: Medical Equipment, Medical Supplies or Orthopaedics.
- Search for the wording your plan uses — it varies:
- Compression stockings
- Gradient compression
- Support hose
- Elasticized support stockings
- Surgical stockings
- Medical braces
- Braces
The most your plan pays in a benefit year. Often shared with other supplies, not reserved for stockings.
How many pairs per year — often a rolling 12 months, not a calendar year.
What the plan pays per pair, often differing by garment — knee high, thigh high, pantyhose. Insurers call it the reasonable and customary amount.
Plans combine these differently — some have all three, some cap the number of pairs but not the dollars, some do the reverse. Whichever ones yours carries, the tightest is what stops you.
Dollar and quantity limits are usually printed in the portal. The per-pair cap often is not — and it decides whether a $120 pair comes back as $120 or as $75. Call the number on your benefits card and ask for the reasonable and customary limit per pair, by garment length.
Step 1 — Get the prescription first
Who can write one, and what it needs to say.
Your insurer asks for it with the claim, and it is what lets us take the GST/HST off qualifying items — so it has to come before the estimate.
A prescription can be written by any of the following:
Or a nurse practitioner. Worth using if you already have an appointment coming up.
Easiest option. Platforms like Tia Health let you book from home. Choose a general appointment, describe your symptoms, then ask for the item by name.
No roster needed. Bring the wording below so the visit is quick.
A prescription naming only the product, with no diagnosis, is the most common reason a claim comes back short. The first two are essential; the third is optional but worth asking for:
| Compression garments | Braces & supports | |
|---|---|---|
| The reason | A medical diagnosis — varicose veins, edema (fluid swelling), chronic venous insufficiency, lymphedema. "For travel" is often refused. | The joint and the condition, and which side — e.g. "left knee osteoarthritis". |
| The item | The compression class in mmHg. Most plans expect medical grade: 20–30 mmHg or above. | The item by name — e.g. "knee brace, left". |
| How many optional | A number, not "as needed" — e.g. 4–6 pairs. | A number — e.g. "1". |
A prescription is generally good for a year. If your doctor writes the full quantity you expect to need, you can buy in batches without booking again. Ask us if you are unsure what to request.
Step 2 — Ask us for a free estimate
Add to cart, upload your prescription — we do the rest. Nothing is charged.
An itemized document we prepare free of charge: what you plan to buy, each price, and our provider details — everything your insurer needs to confirm what it will pay. It is not an order, and nothing is charged.
- Add what you need to your cart. Not sure which product, size or compression level you need? Ask us first — easier now than amending a claim later.
- Click the dark blue "Get an Insurance Estimate" button in your cart, or open the Insurance Estimate page. Fill in your details and upload your prescription — a phone photo or a PDF is fine.
- We email your estimate, usually within one business day, with tax removed from qualifying items — so your insurer sees the real numbers. If it has not arrived, check your spam or junk folder.
Step 3 — Send it to your insurer for pre-approval
Which claim type to pick, and where — Sun Life, Manulife, Canada Life, Green Shield, Blue Cross and others.
Submit your prescription and the estimate through your insurer's member site or app.
Choose Estimate or Pre-determination — not the ordinary Medical Equipment claim, which assumes you have already paid.
They look similar in the portal and do entirely different things:
| Estimate (pre-determination) | Regular claim | |
|---|---|---|
| When | Before you buy, to confirm what is covered | After you have paid, to get reimbursed |
| What you send | Prescription + our estimate | Prescription + your paid receipt |
| What comes back | A predetermination letter — what your plan will pay, if anything. No money moves yet. | Money deposited to your account. |
Where to submit, insurer by insurer
Only the screen names differ. Portals change and vary by plan — if what you see does not match, call the number on your benefits card or message us.
Sun Life
- Sign in at mysunlife.ca and select Submit documents — on the Health page, or under Claims.
- Choose the document type Estimates.
- Choose who it is for, and an estimate type (e.g. Medical).
- Tick the categories that apply: Orthopaedic covers compression stockings, Medical braces covers braces.
- Attach your prescription and our estimate (up to 10 files, .jpg/.png/.pdf, under 3 MB each).
- Select I Agree to submit.
Manulife
- Sign in at manulife.ca or the Manulife Mobile app and open your group benefits plan.
- Start a submission and choose Estimate as the provider type — that is what marks it as a pre-approval rather than an expense you have already paid.
- Attach your prescription and the estimate — a phone photo works in the app.
- Manulife replies with what your plan will pay, typically within five business days.
Canada Life
- Sign in to My Canada Life at Work (website or app).
- Go to Make a claim → Start a claim.
- For claim type, choose Estimates and other claims.
- Upload your prescription and estimate.
- Canada Life confirms the amount it will cover, usually within a few business days.
Green Shield Canada
- Sign in at greenshield.ca or the GSC Everywhere app.
- For equipment and medical items GreenShield uses a pre-authorization (it also calls this a predetermination). Submit your prescription and estimate against that, not as an ordinary claim — if you cannot find it in your account, call the number on your card.
- GreenShield confirms your coverage and reimbursement before you buy.
Blue Cross
- Blue Cross is regional — use the site or app for your plan (Medavie, Ontario, Alberta, Pacific and so on).
- In the claims section, submit your prescription and estimate.
- These plans want an eligible diagnosis on the prescription and the compression level itemized on the receipt — ours carry both. Medavie also asks that stockings come from an approved provider, so check that before you order.
Other plans
- In the claims area, look for Submit documents, Submit an estimate or Pre-determination.
- Attach your prescription and estimate, labelled as an estimate for pre-approval.
- Can't find it? Call the number on your benefits card, or message us.
Step 4 — Order, then claim your money back
Order at the approved prices, then send the receipt in.
Once your insurer confirms what it will pay, scan the Pay online QR code on your estimate, or click Place My Order in our email — your order is placed at the approved prices.
After paying, send the receipt to your insurer the same way, this time as a regular claim. Keep your prescription with it — most plans ask for it again.
Our receipts already show what insurers check for: the claimant's name, our name and address, each item and the total. Reimbursement is usually quick, but allow a few business days.
If your plan doesn't cover everything
Annual maximums, per-pair caps, and the CRA Medical Expense Tax Credit.
Whatever your plan doesn't reimburse may still count toward the CRA Medical Expense Tax Credit on your income tax return — so keep your receipts and prescription even after the claim is settled.
Questions along the way?
- Chat: the button at the bottom-right of any page — fastest option
- Email: care@alignovamedical.ca
- Phone: +1 416-836-9978