Insurance & Funding
Medical equipment for a WCB-Alberta claim in Calgary
When an injury at work becomes a WCB-Alberta claim, equipment for home runs through WCB rather than through your own pocket or your benefits plan. That changes the order of events. With WCB, approval comes first and the equipment comes second.
This guide explains what WCB-Alberta’s procedures say about beds, mattresses, lift chairs, wheelchairs and scooters, what your case manager is there for, and why you should hold off paying for anything until WCB tells you how it will be handled. Each claim is decided on its own facts, and WCB makes the decision.
- Approval
- All special equipment must be approved by WCB in advance
- Assessment
- An occupational therapist assesses every medical aid and equipment request
- Beds, mattresses, lift chairs
- Purchased and supplied through a vendor WCB has approved
- Rentals
- Used when a need is temporary and WCB has nothing suitable in storage
How equipment is approved on a WCB claim
- 1
Talk to your case manager
Describe what is hard at home: getting out of bed, rising from a chair, getting around outdoors. Do this before arranging any equipment yourself.
- 2
OT assessment
WCB requires an occupational therapist’s assessment for all medical aids and equipment. The assessment looks at what you need and what would meet that need.
- 3
WCB decides and arranges
If a request is approved, WCB’s special care coordinator arranges the purchase and delivery. Some items come from WCB storage, some are bought, and some may be rented.
- 4
Receipts, if asked
If WCB asks you to pay and be reimbursed, keep every receipt. Copies are accepted, including ones sent through the Worker Mobile App.
Approval before equipment, every time
WCB-Alberta’s procedures say that every request for special services, supplies and adaptive equipment must be pre-approved. The examples WCB gives are the same things families phone us about: wheelchairs, beds, mattresses, lift chairs and electric scooters.
In practice, if you rent or buy first and ask afterwards, WCB has not agreed to anything. Workers are specifically told not to buy beds, mattresses or lift chairs without WCB approval.
What your case manager is for
Your case manager is the first call about equipment. Requests go through WCB, which requires an occupational therapist’s assessment, and once something is approved, WCB’s special care coordinator arranges the purchase and delivery.
If you are still in hospital after a workplace injury, raise the equipment question with WCB before discharge day. It is much easier to sort out while you have staff around you than from a house where the bed is upstairs and the stairs are the problem.
Rented, purchased or from WCB storage
WCB doesn’t automatically buy new equipment. Its procedure says some equipment may be rented when it is needed only temporarily and isn’t available in storage. The typical example is a manual wheelchair for a seriously injured worker who is expected to improve.
Beds, mattresses and lift chairs follow a different rule. WCB’s procedure says these must be purchased and provided by a vendor WCB has approved. So if one of those items is what you need, your case manager will tell you how WCB supplies it, and it may not involve a rental at all.
Who gets billed
WCB’s information for workers says most medical benefits are covered up front and others are reimbursed, and it suggests asking providers whether they can bill WCB directly. When equipment can’t be billed directly, receipts are required, and WCB accepts copies, including through the Worker Mobile App.
If your case manager asks for a quote on a rental, we can supply one showing the equipment and the monthly rate. If WCB approves a rental and asks you to pay and claim it back, we give you an itemized receipt for each month.
While a claim or a request is still undecided
If your claim hasn’t been accepted yet, or an equipment request isn’t approved, you may still decide to rent privately for comfort or safety at home. If you do, go in knowing that WCB hasn’t agreed to pay for it, and tell WCB what you have arranged.
For an injury covered by WCB, WCB comes before Alberta Aids to Daily Living, so AADL isn’t the place to start. If the injury turns out not to be work-related, your extended health benefits or personal funds come into play instead, and our other funding guides walk through those routes.
Keep these together for your WCB claim
- Your WCB claim number and your case manager’s contact details
- Notes of every conversation about equipment: the date, who you spoke with, and what was agreed
- The occupational therapist’s assessment or recommendation, if you receive a copy
- Confirmation that equipment is approved, before anything is delivered
- A quote from us, if your case manager asks for one
- Receipts or copies for anything WCB asked you to pay and claim back
Questions people ask us
Can I rent a hospital bed now and have WCB pay later?
Does WCB ever rent equipment?
Who decides what equipment I need?
Should I buy a lift chair myself and keep the receipt?
What paperwork can you give WCB?
My claim hasn’t been accepted yet. What should I do about equipment?
Has your case manager asked for a quote?
Send us the equipment WCB is considering and when it’s needed. We’ll provide a written quote for the claim file, and deliver once the rental is approved.