Ontario Essential Medicine Program Application
The GreenShield Cares Essential Medicines program provides 12 months of coverage of up to $1,000 for a defined list of prescription medications with:
No out-of-pocket costs.
No co-pays or deductibles.
Free shipping.
To be eligible, individuals must meet the following criteria:
- Resident of Ontario.
- Currently employed.
- Aged 25 to 64.
- Have a household income below the program threshold.
- Need or anticipate the need for prescription medications to treat a medical condition.
- Not enrolled in a private or employee prescription drug plan, regardless of the level of coverage.
- Not enrolled in, or eligible for, a provincial program that provides prescription drug coverage.
A subset of these drugs may require the applicant to meet clinical criteria to be eligible for coverage or may be subject to other limitations, as determined by GreenShield.
Prescription drug programs in Ontario include, but are not limited to, Ontario Works (OW), Ontario Disability Support (ODSP) Program, Trillium Drug Program (TDP), Ontario Drug Benefit (ODB), etc.
Fulfilling eligibility criteria does not guarantee acceptance into the program. As program resources are limited, program acceptance and enrolment may be limited based on capacity.
Please review the following program definitions before completing this application form to ensure you understand the questions and how they pertain to the purposes of this program.
Please contact the program Specialist if you have any questions regarding these definitions. Phone: 1-519-739-1208 or toll-free at 1-888-348-5188, or email: essentialmedicines@greenshield.ca.
Definition of Ontario resident:
For the purposes of the Essential Medicines program, a resident is an individual who is recognized by the government as residing in the province of Ontario.
Definition of household:
- A single person living alone.
- Two persons who are married to one another.
- Two persons living in a conjugal relationship outside marriage who have cohabited for at least one year, are together the parents of a child, or have together entered into a cohabitation agreement under section 53 of the Family Law Act.
- Children living with you, including children and youth aged 24 years and under who are covered by OHIP+, and children who are students, who may not live with you but rely on you for financial support, such as students who are away for school or children studying abroad.
- Parents, grandparents, and other relatives who live with you and rely on you or you rely on them for financial support.
- Two persons living together if one is the legal guardian of the other, and one is dependent on the other for financial support.
- Individuals living in a household (whether related or not) but are not under the guardianship of another and pay for their own expenses, including utility bills, rent, groceries, medical expenses, childcare, etc. A person who is financially independent from other household members. This person does not rely on other household members for financial support, and other household members do not rely on them for financial support.
Definition of net household income:
- Represents the money the household has left over after subtracting taxes and other deductions from all household members combined gross income in a calendar year.
Definition of employment:
- Represents an individual’s employment status and includes actively working part-time or full-time whether on a permanent or contract basis.
- Includes individuals employed but not actively working due to being on leave including maternity, sick, or other types of leave in which there is intent to return to work with the same employer in the future and do not have access to prescription drug coverage while on leave.