Tube Feed Supplement

Effective: January 1, 2020

A tube feed supplement may be provided to a recipient of income assistance, disability assistance, or hardship assistance who is unable to take food orally or process it through the gastrointestinal system. The supplement can be provided for acute short-term or chronic long-term conditions. The supplement includes nutritional product, medical supplies, and medical equipment necessary for tube feeding. The tube feed supplement is available when no other funding (government funded programs or other resources) is available to the client.

Effective: January 1, 2020

The following clients are eligible for the tube feed supplement:

• persons receiving income assistance, disability assistance, or hardship assistance and their dependants not already receiving another nutrition-related supplement
• children in the Child in Home of a Relative (CIHR) Program
• dependants of persons residing in a special care facility
• persons who were in receipt of the tube feed supplement at the time their family unit transitioned to Medical Services Only (MSO) coverage [see Related Links – Medical Services Only]
• persons who were in receipt of the tube feed supplement at the time their family unit transitioned to Transitional Health Services [THS] coverage [see Related Links – Transitional Health Services]

Effective: January 1, 2020

The following clients are not eligible for the tube feed supplement:

• persons residing in a  special care facility
• persons who qualify for a health supplement due to having a life-threatening health need [see Related Links – Life-Threatening Health Needs]
• persons receiving another nutrition-related supplement
• persons who were not in receipt of the tube feed supplement at the time their family unit transitioned to Medical Services Only (MSO)
• persons who were not in receipt of the tube feed supplement at the time their family unit transitioned to Transitional Health Services (THS) 

Effective:  September 1, 2015

Clients may be eligible for a tube feed supplement provided that all of the following conditions are met and confirmed in writing by a medical practitioner, nurse practitioner or a registered dietitian:

• that the person’s primary source of nutrition must be obtained through tube feeding;
• the type of nutritional product required;
• daily or monthly quantity of nutritional product required;
• the expected duration of the condition requiring tube feeding; and
• the necessary tube feed related supplies or equipment.

Clients are responsible for providing the required documentation. The ministry is not responsible for any fees associated with documentation.

Persons in receipt of the tube feed supplement are not eligible  to receive any other nutrition-related supplement.  Clients that are eligible for more than one of these supplements must choose which of these supplements they would like to receive [see Related Links – Diet Supplements, Nutritional Supplements, and Monthly Nutritional Supplements].

The nutritional product and supplies portion of the tube feed supplement may be approved for the period of time indicated on the prescription up to a maximum of 2 years. For ongoing nutritional product and supply requests, the ministry’s Health Assistance will assign a review date at the time of approval. Three months prior to this review date, the client will receive a letter requesting confirmation to renew their request for ongoing nutritional product and medical supplies required for tube feeding. Additional medical documentation will only be requested where necessary (for example, a new medical supply item is required or there is a significant change in quantities).

Effective:  December 2, 2008

Health Assistance (HA) assesses for ALL tube feed request regardless of cost or duration of time they are required.

To assess eligibility for the tube feed supplement, follow these steps:

The nutritional product and supplies portion of the tube feed supplement is generally approved on an ongoing basis through the Product Distribution Centre (PDC) and supplies and nutrition are automatically renewed each year on the recipient’s birthday so no new prescription would be required. If there are changes needed to the list of approved ongoing items, the recipient just needs to submit an updated prescription from a medical practitioner, nurse practitioner or a registered dietitian. For any end dated approvals, a new prescription with updated medical justification would be required prior to the expiry date of the approval in order to avoid delay.