AFP/AAC Newsletter #31 - English

since January, we heard the need for reintroducing a Veteran’s Service Card. We listened and we are taking action. We are committed to improv- ing how members transition from their service in the Canadian Armed Forces to life after service and this Card will provide a valuable link to VAC programs and offer a recogni- tion of their service to Canada.” Seamus O'Regan, Minister of Veterans Affairs Quick facts • The Veteran’s Service Card is being introduced under an initiative of Canada’s Defence Policy, Strong, Secure, Engaged (SSE) and is one of the elements being put in place to help en- sure a smooth transition to post service life. For more information please visit the Veterans Service card page. www.canada.ca/en/department- national-defence/services/ benefits-military/transition/ service-card.html Armed Forces Pensioners’ / Annuitants’ Association of Canada Issue #31 • November 2018 By Paula Roy W hile improvements in com- pensation for veterans have been made over the past twelve years, significant gaps remain despite promised finan- cial security for Canadian Armed Forces veterans, particularly those who have incurred service-related injuries. Canada’s Veterans Ombudsman, Guy Parent, is fully committed to advocating for the fair treatment of all veterans and their fami- lies. The function of this office is to ensure adequate benefits are available, that these benefits are sufficient to meet needs, and that benefits are quickly and easily ac- cessible. Parent’s role also includes monitoring progress on benefits while facilitating discussions and making recommendations. He notes that since the old Pension Act was replaced in 2006 by the New Veterans Charter (NVC), the situation has improved. Thus far, of 64 recommendations made by his office to address systemic problems at VAC, 46 have been implemented. However, the om- budsman’s report card issued July 31, 2018 indicates there is still room for improvement in multiple areas, including: • Health Care and Support • Financial Security • Transition Planning and Pre- paredness • Education, Employment and Social Integration • Service Experience One of the most egregious prob- lems concerns the delay in approval for medical treatment after retire- ment. Before the NVC, veterans with service-related injuries were reimbursed for their medical ex- penses from the time they applied for coverage. Today, however, under the NVC some injured veterans are not able to access treatment imme- diately upon retirement because the costs are not paid by VAC until the prescribed therapy has been approved by bureaucrats within the department. In some cases, these approvals can take as long as 50 weeks and the medical services are not covered retroactively. Many veterans cannot pay out of pocket while awaiting approval, meaning they must wait – sometimes almost a year – to commence the treat- ment program recommended by medical personnel. Needless to say, their health status may deteriorate significantly during this waiting period. Parent notes that there are in- stances where VAC authorizes and reimburses rehabilitation benefits, particularly for mental-health treat- ment, before the claims are adjudi- cated, but the criteria for those pay- ments is narrow and generally only involve conditions that are deemed to be a barrier to rehabilitation. In the area of financial security, many of the ombudsman’s recom- mendations have been ignored, such as the continued practice of only paying a death benefit to spouses and dependent children of members who die of a service-relat- ed injury or illness. Parent asserts that those benefits should also be available to a deceased member’s extended family should he or she die without a spouse, common-law partner or offspring. Another challenge concerns den- tal benefits, whereby members who retire after serving for at least ten years are entitled to join the public service dental plan if they wish. For veterans forced to retire from ser- vice because of injury before they reach the ten year mark, the loss of dental benefits can be costly, par- ticularly if they have a family that includes young children. Parent has indicated that his office will continue to monitor and report on the progress being made on the recommendations he has identified. To view the Veterans Ombudsman’s 2018 Report Card, please visit http://www.ombuds - man- veterans.gc.ca/eng/reports/ statistics-facts/2018-report-card . Veterans still face long waits to have treatments covered Ombudsman says key recommendations being ignored Veteran’s Service Cards Continued from page 5