Saskatchewan Supplementary Health Benefits reach people through SAID, SIS, and the Saskatchewan Employment Incentive. Under Plan One, an adult pays no more than $2 per benefit prescription.
Applies in: Saskatchewan
There is no stand-alone Supplementary Health Benefits application form on the Saskatchewan page. Coverage follows enrolment in one of the listed income support programs or groups. The Government of Saskatchewan says the Ministry of Health will send you a letter advising that you have been approved for Supplementary Health Benefits.
Supplementary Health Benefits add coverage for services and products that sit outside Saskatchewan's universal health benefits, including drugs, dental services, optical services, and medical supplies.
The Saskatchewan page says the program provides assistance with non-insured health services to:
So the practical first step is the income support program itself. Our guides to SAID and Saskatchewan Income Support cover those applications.
This guide covers how the health benefits attach and what they pay for. It gives no advice on whether you qualify for any of the underlying programs.
Medical supplies and appliances. Surgical dressings, female contraceptive devices, incontinence aids (except pads and incontinence briefs), aerochambers, and ostomy supplies. These are available only if a physician or authorized health professional prescribes them, and many require prior approval by the Ministry of Health.
Drugs. Children under 18 receive benefit prescriptions for free, covering insulin, oral medication for diabetes, and birth control pills across all plans. Adults fall under one of three plans:
Hearing services. Audiology services, hearing aids, and certain supplies through approved suppliers, most requiring prior approval. Replacement of a lost or broken hearing aid may be paid on an individual basis, with a 30% co-payment for clients over 20.
Dental services. Emergency benefits cover pain relief and infection control. Adults 18 and older who are able to work, and their spouses, get emergency benefits only for six months from nomination, then full benefits. Children automatically qualify for full benefits, covering basic preventive, restorative, exodontic, and prosthetic services.
Optical services. One eye exam per year under 18 or over 64, and one every two years otherwise. Glasses may be covered through approved providers.
Podiatry and transportation. Foot care visits and appliances through approved providers, plus patient charges for emergency road and air ambulance services. In northern Saskatchewan only, long-distance medically related transportation by commercial carriers is available with prior approval by local health personnel.
Coverage does not normally extend outside Saskatchewan, though services may be covered with prior approval from the Ministry of Social Services.
Show your valid Saskatchewan Health card or temporary health coverage form every time you request a service. Providers confirm your coverage and are paid directly by the program. The program does not reimburse clients, so paying first and claiming back is not the route this program offers.
The Saskatchewan page does not publish a stand-alone application form, an application address, or a processing time for Supplementary Health Benefits themselves, because approval follows the underlying program, so this guide gives none of those. The page also does not publish dollar limits for dental, optical, or hearing coverage, apart from the $2 Plan One prescription amount and the 30% hearing aid replacement co-payment for clients over 20, so this guide gives no other amounts.
Coverage is tied to the groups the province lists: government wards, inmates of provincial correctional institutions, residents of special care facilities who are eligible for the Seniors' Income Plan, and people enrolled in Saskatchewan Assured Income for Disability (SAID), Saskatchewan Income Support (SIS), or the Saskatchewan Employment Incentive (SEI). The Ministry of Health sends you a letter advising that you have been approved.
Medical supplies and appliances such as surgical dressings and ostomy supplies, prescription drugs, hearing services, dental services, optical services, podiatry services, and patient charges for emergency road and air ambulance services. Many items need a prescription from a physician or authorized health professional, and many require prior approval by the Ministry of Health.
Children under 18 receive benefit prescriptions for free. Under Plan One, an adult pays no more than $2 for each benefit prescription. Under Plan Two, a person on Plan One who needs several different drugs on a long-term basis may be eligible for benefit prescriptions for free. Under Plan Three, people receiving the Seniors' Income Plan in special-care homes receive benefit prescriptions for free, plus certain additional prescribed drugs.
Emergency dental benefits, limited to relieving pain and controlling infection, come first for adults 18 and older who are able to work: they and their spouses get emergency benefits only for six months from nomination to the program, then full benefits after six months. Children automatically qualify for full benefits, which cover basic preventive, restorative, exodontic, and prosthetic services.
One eye exam per year if you are under 18 or over 64, and one exam every two years for everyone else. Coverage may be available for glasses, both lenses and frames, through approved service providers, and the program may pay for replacement of lost or broken glasses on an individual basis.
No. Always provide your valid Saskatchewan Health card or temporary health coverage form when you request a Supplementary Health service, so the provider can confirm your coverage. The program does not reimburse clients, because payments are made directly to the service providers.