ODSP Discretionary Expenses - Mattress

[Alana]

Hello there,

I suffer from severe back pain/sciatica. I contacted my ODSP rep to
inquire whether I would be eligible for financial aid to cover the
partial cost of purchasing a new mattress. They denied my request
citing mattresses do not qualify as discretionary expenses.

I am now trying to save my pennies to invest in a memory foam mattress
topper. My question is have you heard of anyone getting assistance for
a mattress? Would it help if my doctor provided a recommendation
(prescription)? Given that back pain is at the root of my disability,
I would think anything that could help alleviate some suffering should
qualify.

Thank you for your time!

Alana

[Malcolm53]

If you require a new mattress for medical reasons, and this is what
you are indicating I would strongly suggest that you approach your
doctor for assistance in getting a mattress prescribed for you and
applying for financial assistance under MSN-B Surgical Supplies.

Surgical Supplies is a much underused support mechanism. For more
information on applying for Surgical Supplies please read the MSN Page
on the groups site.

http://groups.google.ca/group/odspfireside/web

Malcolm

[L B]

Try asking places like St. Vincent de Paul...they have funding for helping people out.  Also, Salvation Army, Lions/Lioness Clubs, churches, etc.  Hope this helps.

 

 

Alana <alan...@yahoo.ca> wrote:

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[abrowne]

One thing I might add is *never* buy a used mattress, esp. with the
problems of bedbugs and other issues that are prevalent now.
A

L B <artist...@yahoo.ca> wrote:

Try asking places like St. Vincent de Paul...they have funding for helping people out.  Also, Salvation Army, Lions/Lioness Clubs, churches, etc.  Hope this helps.

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[Frank]

Alana,

Sleep Country has a program where they give used Mattresses. You may find one you like from them. Give them a call.

Frank.
______________________________________________________________________

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[Mica]

Hi Alana,
I also suffer severe back pain and have been unable to sleep on a flat
surface for years. Unfortunately, unless Malcolm's suggestion meets
with success, you may be searching for funding/a donation for quite
some time. I had a very specific prescription from my doctor and was
still turned down by ODSP, as the directives state that mattresses are
*not* to be funded. I then tiurned to the Assistive Devices Program,
March of Dimes, as well as the Native Health Benefits programs; all
with no success. Finally, I began to call the hospital, nursing homes,
and various churches and charities in my own town. Surprised the heck
outta me when one of my calls refered me to someone, who refered me to
someone else - I ended up with a three motor used hospital bed
outfitted with a new mattress which a church group *lent* to me
indefinately! So, my advice would be to start looking at resources
which may not have occurred to you initially, like hospitals, etc....
Best of luck to you,
Mica

On Jan 22, 8:08 pm, Alana <alana_...@yahoo.ca> wrote:

> I suffer from severe back pain/sciatica. I contacted my ODSP rep to inquire whether I would be eligible for financial aid to cover the partial cost of purchasing a new mattress. They denied my request citing mattresses do not qualify as discretionary expenses. My question is have you heard of anyone getting assistance for a mattress? Would it help if my doctor provided a recommendation (prescription)? Given that back pain is at the root of my disability, Alana

[J Chooutla]

Hi Alana:

I got ODSP to pay for a specailzed mattress by having
my physician referr me to the Community Care Acesss
Centre for and assessment by an Occupational Therapist
(OT)to evaluate my mattress needs.

The OT visitedd me, prescribed a special mattress
saying I required it to alleviate pain and prevent
further disbilities resuting from my back problems
(spinal stenosis and osteoarthritis of the spine)

The OT also prescribed a hospital; bed for me.

ODSP paid for both without any questions or problems.

Jeannie in Toronto

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> Flickr!
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[bjr]

Sleep Country gives their refurbished mattress to approved government
agencies, like group homes and CAS.
They don't give them to "individuals".
My kids who are now grown teenagers have never received funding for a
bed.
When I first came into the system from a battered women's shelter
they got crib mattresses.
I garbage picked their beds.
Requests for community maintenance were referred to Discretionary
benefits who gave me a voucher for half the cost after I submitted
three estimates.
Not having any money to pay the other half the voucher was pretty
much useless.
I begged with a store owner, who agreed to give me one mattress, no
bed, no boxspring, and one refurbished mattress in exchange for the
voucher which aledgedly covered the cost of two full beds...yeah
right, maybe thirty years ago!
A few months later they were out of business.

[mking101]

In Ottawa it is Essential Health Services that provide mattresses.
They delivered a set from Sleeptek. I live in RGTI housing, the the
delivery men refused to remove my old mattress-they propped up by the
elevator.The new one they put inside my door I had to unwrap it.
However the real surprise was that the box spring had a thin muslin
cloth on top, but underneath there were 'Bud Lite' beer cartons. I was
on the 6 pm A channel news - a reporter came out and I showed him the
boxspring - it showed up well on TV. They called Sleeptek and were
told it was a mistake, that I got a 'standard welfare bed'. The
mattress lasted 2years. My Dad bought me a Sealy. What a difference!

[alan cameron]

Class Action Law Suit: Canada Pension Plan Disability Benefits
Class Action Lawsuit
Wilson vs Her Magesty the Queen
S.C.B.C., Kelowna Registry Action No. 850808
A Class Action Law Suit commenced against the Province of BC with respect
to Canada Pension Plan Disability Benefits.
which were assigned by recipients of B.C. Disability Benefits to B.C.'s
Ministry of Human Resources from May 1, 1997 to
and including January 14, 1999
On the Application for CPP Disability Benefits was made, you may have
signed a from called an ""ISP1613 Consent to Deduction
and Payment"" which directed Canada Pension Plan to pay the CPP Disability pension Benefits, including CPP Arrears, to the Ministry of Human Resources.
Doak Sheriff , Barristers and Soliciters of Kelowna BC challenged the legality of the CPP Arrears assignments by commencing this Class Action Lawsuit.
As Counsel for the Class Members, they have successfully reached a settlement with the Province
of BC, which has been approved by the Courts, whereby those Class Members who assigned the CPP Arrears to the Province of BC will receive 50% of the arrears amount paid to the Province, if they want to receive the money. Daok Sheriff, believe the Ministry of Human Resources acted wrongfully by taking the Assignment of CPP Arrears.

> Date: Sat, 26 Jan 2008 09:52:20 -0800
> Subject: [odspfireside: 15447 ] Re: ODSP Discretionary Expenses - Mattress
> From: mkin...@rogers.com
> To: odspfi...@googlegroups.com

[bjr]

You ask for input, here's mine.
You keep tossing this post into unrelated subjects and that's
annoying.
IT IS NOT RELEVANT TO ONTARIO RESIDENTS!!!!
Each province has its own laws in regard to the social assistance they
provide for their residents.
It does not mean that B.C. residents are getting better benefits then
we are.
It means they were getting jacked around worse then we are.

[private....@gmail.com]

Easy, It looks to be a blog post with irrelevant information ..... true annoying but none-the-less Look Carefully what the legal aspect is talking about it is in B.C> yes but it is CPP disability.. Federal Law and jurisdiction.

Which can be seen as a wonderful tool because it would be great CLASS ACTION one to pay attention to definitely. it is brought in B.C. court yes but the court system is  covering Canada.

It would be nice to see how many are on the class action suit and how it unfolds. if it is argued well it will be exactly what I had previously posted about  a managed class action where a number of disabled recipients band(ed) together to champion the cause legally. Federal is above Provincial law and the lower courts look at what the higher ones are deciding.

[abrowne]

D,
It is BC law being appealed.  It's irrelevant where CPP comes from
in this particular matter.
A

private....@gmail.com wrote:

Easy, It looks to be a blog post with irrelevant information ..... true annoying but none-the-less Look Carefully what the legal aspect is talking about it is in B.C> yes but it is CPP disability..

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[private....@gmail.com]

 yes you are correct it is in an appealed law . Thanks A.

Still it is from what I have gleaned from sources a federal point of view.

Not necessarily irelevant as it has already been sourced that CPP is a Federal Jurisdiction thus far.. and that depending on the ACT{s} applies to any sources of income. without gender of where it maybe coming from.

:)

[Alana]

Hi there...

Nice to meet you all! I just wanted to thank you for your very
thoughtful and helpful advice. Today a friend loaned me the money to
purchase an 8" memory foam mattress on ebay from Toronto. The price
was quite reasonable... $200.00 plus a $10.00 pickup fee. (I couldn't
bear to take a used mattress. You never know what creepy crawlies
might be lurking and with my back it's just not an option.)

FYI... I am very new to this message board and couldn't find my way
back to this page and your responses until now, so I didn't know I had
received your very helpful input. duh! Anyhoo, perhaps I can still
contact ODSP about a reimbursement. Considering the cost for "regular"
mattresses, this was an incredible bargain!

Thanks again folks... much appreciated, and nice knowing that I'm not
alone. :))

Alana

[Karen MacNeil]

Hi there
I am new to ODSP and this format of communicating so please bear with me.

I would like to know what the ceiling is for buying a pair of glasses. I
called the office in Peterborough and was told to submit an estimate.

Please advise what the maximum is that they are prepared to pay. I would
like high density lenses because the old type are too heavy on my nose and
give me headaches. I also need bifocals and would prefer the type that are
"disappearing".

Thank you and I look forward to hearing from whoever can let me know what
the standard limit is for glasses.

regards
Karen

[ELLEN MASUDA]

Karen:

The optician you take your prescription to will tell you what will be covered by ODSP.  I have bifocals and ODSP would not cover the disappearing lknses.  You have to submit the prescription and they will send it back to you with a voucner that you take to the optician. At least here in Toronto that's the procedure, I don;t know about elsewhere.

Ellen in Toronto

[darren ditommaso]

hello there ...i live in sault ste marie and my baby girl accidently broke my glasses whitch wasn't a bad deal cause it was over 2 years and my persciption has changed so i made an eye doc appointment and got my new persciption so now off to buy new glasses with the forms OSDP handed me . so i looked in a few shps to see what they had to offer . while at most places i went they had all types of glasses but then they had the OW/OSDP section witch were just horrilable glasses from big thick round things to just ugly wire but nuttin that i would wear, unless i wanted to pay extra. so i went to hakeim as they had a 2 for 1 deal . but they again told me i had to chose from that section only witch were all horrible glasses unless i wanted to pay more . OSDP  would only cover 95.00 for my new glasses and in order to get the 2 for 1 deal i had to pay an extra 105.00 ontop of the 95.00 osdp payed for . after consideration i decided to pay the extra money but now i have my every day glasses aswell as a pair of sunglasses , cool except for the fact that i had to pay 105.00 outa my pocket . cheers hope that my input helps cheers darrren

> From: kama...@sympatico.ca
> To: odspfi...@googlegroups.com
> Subject: [odspfireside: 15529 ] glasses expense
> Date: Fri, 1 Feb 2008 15:41:42 -0500
>
>
> Hi there
> I am new to ODSP and this format of communicating so please bear with me.
>
> I would like to know what the ceiling is for buying a pair of glasses. I
>

[Karen MacNeil]

Thank you for your response Ellen.

Do you know the amount of the voucher?

thank you

karen

[Karen MacNeil]

thanks darren

95.00!!! that is not enough at all!!!!. My last pair .... when I was still in the working world cost almost $400.00 and they were not a particularly trendy pair of frames either!

 

95.00 .... I need more than that ... I'm sure there is more available ... anybody out there? have you had any better experience than Darren?

Karen 

[mking101]

For the frames, according to Lenscrafters, ODSP pays them $42.50 and
Lenscrafters absorbs the difference, so that is why the frames they
show you are the under $90 ones (I am assuming that ODSP 'pays' each
eyeglass company separately but the same amount). These frames are
okay but the wire is VERY thin and I was always bending them. For the
lenses, ODSP pays them more but they have to provide you with your
prescribed lenses.

Now as for the type of lens, what you require is a prescription from
the eye doctor that states in effect 'high density and progressive
lenses are required for medical reasons'. Actually, I did not think
that they made the old type any more, but if your store still has them
then the doctor should write on the prescription as above. NOW, ODSP
sends you a letter of authorization which ALSO must state 'We
authorize ...to provide high density and progressive lens to...'. ODSP
cannot simply state ' as per prescription' - Lenscrafters here in
Ottawa refused my original letter. When I pointed out the doctor's
script stated 'progressive lens' the manager said that in the past,
because ODSP did not specifically mention the progressive lenses in
thier letter, after all the work had been done and the glasses
dispensed, ODSP refused to pay and in actuality 'stiffed' Lenscrafters
out of the extra.

In my most recent pair - they only have the high density type here, I
paid extra for a better frame (and that is the extra from what ODSP
pays them, not the extra from the price on the frames, be aware of
that) and also another $110 for 'transition' lenses. So instead of
always changing from my regular to my sunglasses and back again, say
when window shopping and you go into a store for a closer look, they
darker and lighten on their own. I found this feature alone well worth
it (just my regular glasses for a progressive lens - three focal
distances, plus astigmatism in my right eye - is well over $500), much
cheaper than buying prescription sunglasses, and much less hassle.
Plus the extra for the better frames was also well worth it.

If you cannot afford any extras, just make sure that the prescription
does state, if that is the case, that high density and progressive
lenses are required for medical reason.

[ELLEN MASUDA]

Karen:

It won't say how much they will pay but the optician will show you the frames that it will cover.  It will cover basic lenses including bifocals but not the disappearing ones, which is what I wanted but could not get.  Here in Toronto I was allowed to take my prescription anywhere I wanted .  They used to have only one place where you could take it but they changed that here.  I don't know what it will be like where you live.

Ellen

[mking101]

For the frames, according to Lenscrafters, ODSP pays them $42.50 and
Lenscrafters absorbs the difference, so that is why the frames they
show you are the under $90 ones (I am assuming that ODSP 'pays' each
eyeglass company separately but the same amount). These frames are
okay but the wire is VERY thin and I was always bending them. For the
lenses, ODSP pays them more but they have to provide you with your
prescribed lenses.

Now as for the type of lens, what you require is a prescription from

the eye doctor that states, in effect, 'high density and progressive

lenses are required for medical reasons'. Actually, I did not think
that they made the old type any more, but if your store still has them
then the doctor should write on the prescription as above. NOW, ODSP
sends you a letter of authorization which ALSO must state 'We
authorize ...to provide high density and progressive lens to...'. ODSP
cannot simply state ' as per prescription' - Lenscrafters here in
Ottawa refused my original letter. When I pointed out the doctor's
script stated 'progressive lens' the manager said that in the past,
because ODSP did not specifically mention the progressive lenses in

their letter, after all the work had been done and the glasses

dispensed, ODSP refused to pay and in actuality 'stiffed' Lenscrafters
out of the extra.

In my most recent pair - they only have the high density type here, I
paid extra for a better frame (and that is the extra from what ODSP
pays them, not the extra from the price on the frames, be aware of
that) and also another $110 for 'transition' lenses. So instead of
always changing from my regular to my sunglasses and back again, say
when window shopping and you go into a store for a closer look, they
darker and lighten on their own. I found this feature alone well worth
it (just my regular glasses for a progressive lens - three focal
distances, plus astigmatism in my right eye - is well over $500), much
cheaper than buying prescription sunglasses, and much less hassle.
Plus the extra for the better frames was also well worth it.

If you cannot afford any extras, just make sure that the prescription
does state, if that is the case, that high density and progressive
lenses are required for medical reason.


On Feb 1, 3:41 pm, "Karen MacNeil" <kamacn...@sympatico.ca> wrote:

> KaFren

[corrinna]

No the max I was given was 95.00 also, imho, I would never ever go to Hakim
again...

[twiste...@excite.com]

here In Niagara I went to LensCrafters they had a large section to choose from that were fully covered by ODSP this was 4 years ago. I like the way I was treated there and will return there this spring.

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[Michael Bird]

I got my new glasses at the Optometrists office..... they are the latest fashion and I really like them... I had to pay $12.00 out of my pocket.....Mike

On Feb 2, 2008 2:17 PM, corrinna <corrinna...@gmail.com> wrote:

No the max I was given was 95.00 also, imho, I would never ever go to Hakim
again...