Frequently Asked Questions

What benefits are available in the program if eligible?

A person is eligible to get benefits if their household’s monthly financial resources are less than what they would get from this program. Program benefits include:

• income support benefits (these are like EIA ‘basic needs’)
• the shelter support (like EIA Rent Assist or shelter benefits)
• the monthly health care costs of their household, including:
  • essential medical and surgical care,
  • essential optical costs including eyeglasses,
  • essential dental care, including dentures,
  • essential medications prescribed by an approved medical professional.

Will my child’s employment income be counted in my total household income?

If your child is a full-time student, the employment income they earn will not be counted towards the total income of all people in the household.

When would a person not be eligible to receive health care costs from the disability support program?

A person will not get health care costs from the disability income support program if they can get health care costs under the Government of Canada's Non-Insured Health Benefits program.

If I no longer get disability support under the program, can I still get health benefits?

After your file with the program closes, you can still get health benefits for 24 months.

Who is not eligible to receive benefits from the program?

You will not be eligible for the program if:

• You are incarcerated (in jail)
• You are receiving EIA under the Manitoba Assistance Act. This means that you cannot receive benefits under the disability income support program and EIA at the same time, but you can receive program benefits once their EIA file closes.

Can someone become eligible in the future for automatic eligibility?

If you do not meet the requirements for automatic eligibility until after the program begins, you will be automatically eligible as soon as you meet the requirements.

What is a functional assessment and who needs to complete one?

If the medical assessment shows the person has a severe and prolonged disability, the person will need to attend a functional assessment. The assessment will look at how their disability impacts activities of daily living and their participation in society.

The director of the disability income support program can decide that a person does not have to complete a functional assessment, if it is clear that the person meets the eligibility requirements.

The director of the disability income support program will

• Decide who will complete the functional assessments; and
• Decide the rules for the persons completing the functional assessments.

The person applying to the disability income support program must go to their functional assessment in-person, or in another way approved by the person completing the assessment.

Decisions will be made after reviewing a person’s application, including the medical assessment and the functional assessment.