Free Stuff for Canadians

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Permalink Reply by Emmy on April 16, 2009 at 11:26am

FREE STUFF and discounts for diabetics in ONTARIO:

You can get a free container for disposing of sharps, at Shoppers Drug Mart pharmacy counters. If you take it in when full, they'll replace it for you too.

Discounts: if you are a senoir or have a senior in your family, you can shop on the last Thursday of the month and get 20% off anything that is NOT on sale (except for prescriptions, tobacco, stamps and lottery tickets - there might be a few other exceptions).

You need to go shopping with a senior in your family and they must have ID showing their birth-date or a senior's card, plus a membership card for Shoppers Optimium club, (free). If you or your spouse is a senior this certainly comes in handy.

Here in Ontario you can buy test strips without a prescription, and insulin as well, so you can go in once a month and get your supplies at a discount. Don't forget to ask for a hand written receipt for all your insulin, test strips, needles, pen tips, alchol swabs, rubbing alcohol, etc. These are all tax deductable medical expenses.

If you have insurance, then you obviously get a better buy on these things through your insurance, but if you don't have coverage, this discount really helps. When you do have insurance, don't forget the hand written receipt can still be used for tax purposes, for any co-payment on your test strips, insulin, and of course your alcohol swabs, and so on.

Other tax deductions for medical expenses include things like walkers, rollators, canes, and other assistive devices, if ordered by your doctor, or Occupational Therapist, and possibly even your chiropractor. For example if you have asthma and need a HEPA filter, your doctor can write a letter stating that you need it and you can count it as a medical expense.

TEST STRIPS: if you live in Ontario and have NO insurance, you can get part of the cost of test strips back, up to a maximum amount. This is done through Monitoring for Health program, but you need the hand written reciepts to get it and you have to fill out your application very carefully as they are extremely picky about it. This does not apply if you have any insurance coverage on your test strips and it does not cover the whole cost, just a portion.

IF you are 65 or older and on insulin, you can get a small grant for needles or pen tips, through ADP, http://www.health.gov.on.ca/english/public/pub/adp/diabetic.html

How much money will I get to help pay for diabetes supplies ?

For needles and syringes, if you are 65 or older, ADP will give you a grant of $170, once a year.

For blood glucose meters, whatever your age, the CDA Monitoring for Health Program will pay 75 per cent of the cost of the regular device to a maximum payment of $75. (IF you have no insurance for them at all).

If you are visually impaired, the maximum payment is 75 per cent of the cost of a talking meter to a maximum payment of $300.

The Program will provide funding towards a meter once every five years.

Blood testing strips and lancets are covered at 75% to a maximum of $600 annually. (if you have no insurance).

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Permalink Reply by Billy Williamson on October 16, 2009 at 7:52am

nobody should ever have to pay for a monitor... i'm a diabetes resource worker and you can get monitors for no cost at all almost anywhere. Anyone need a monitor... just let me know what one you want and i'll see what i can do.

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Permalink Reply by nel peach on April 17, 2009 at 11:58am

Canada wide : Diabetes Dialogue, Spring 2009 edition ,mailed to CDA members ( excluding if your membership is a yearly $ 10.00 ) last page has Save $ 1.00 Extend bar coupon .Offer expires 12/31/2009.
Page 29 advertisement how to get your FREE Accu-Chek Aviva Nano glucometer. website : accu-chek.ca/nano .
And please read my post about disability tax credit ...you just may qualify !

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Permalink Reply by nel peach on April 17, 2009 at 6:47pm

please add: Safeway Pharmacy supplies the Sharp container and replace when full : FREE

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Permalink Reply by CherylLuck on October 31, 2009 at 11:15pm

Safeway (Edmonton, AB) requires that you at least buy your strips from them to cover the cost of disposal. I went back to Zellers where they had begun a sharps program and I did not know.

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Permalink Reply by rainbowgoddess on April 18, 2009 at 1:34pm

Most (but not all) pharmacies will give you a free sharps container and replace it when it's full. I know that Shoppers Drug Mart does this. Save-On Foods, unfortunately, makes you pay for the container.

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Permalink Reply by nel peach on April 18, 2009 at 5:12pm

We need to have a discusssion with owner/millionaire special Jimmy Pattison about the Save-On Foods Sharps containers !! In Salmon Arm , BC , Overwaitea is changing to Save-On Foods, new building etc. and I overheard some one say : a Pharmacy will be included ...will have to check the Sharps story out .Does not appear diabetes friendly .

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Permalink Reply by Carol Coombes on April 20, 2009 at 7:57am

Rexall/PharmaPlus charges for a sharps container. I'll be changing to Shoppers next time I need one.

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Permalink Reply by nel peach on May 21, 2009 at 2:16pm

Coupons : Safeway Pharmacy " Managing Diabetes, spring /summer edition 1 ) Accu-Chek Aviva Nano glucometer ...free with purchase of 100 Accu-Chek Aviva strips ( last page of brochure )
2 ) Oracle Talking monitor for the visualy impaired , free with 100 Oracle test strips , coupon on page 26 OR check website for free coupon : www.oraclediabetes.com or call 1-866-829-7926

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Permalink Reply by Samantha Seltenrich on July 22, 2009 at 12:54am

Another safeway pharmacy benefit that I discovered is the 7x the airmiles. Spending $300 a month you get 105 airmiles. Diabetes is paying for my next vacation!

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Permalink Reply by CherylLuck on October 31, 2009 at 11:18pm

The Club Z points from Zellers got my sons' Christmas presents for years from medications and diabetic stuff there. But not in Ontario it is not lawful to give points for drugs I was told.

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Permalink Reply by john stewart on November 7, 2009 at 3:56am

I use shoppers drug mart,they have a diabetes educator on staff,she knows the angles,I met here at a program i was taking

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