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VAC wait times

Going to dip into the Day 40's mark cause the PSC Monthly amount is still listed and not disappeared yet. This is downright ridiculous. Tomorrow will be Day 39.
 
2 weeks? I can't see it taking that long but I've been wrong before
2 weeks is the standard government payment period used so people don't call everyday. If after 2 weeks it isn't received then we know there is actually an issue to be looked into and it's not just the individual being a pain. Although sometimes it does still turn out to be the individual as the pain.
 
I hve had nothing but great service from VAC. The process is starightforward (if you fill out the forms properly) and they seem relatively responsive. I have had complex muscular / skeletal claims dealt with in less than 12 months, Tinnitus in 3 months, VIP in 3 days etc.

My hearing loss claim I made in 2019 (while still in uniform) was denied. My hearing has degaded since then, and I sent in a updated claim with a new hearing test a few months ago that indicated that the hearing in my right ear has degraded, and that I should have a hearing aid that also counters the effects of tinnitus. The claim was denied (relatively quickly) on the grounds that a determination had already been made, so it had to go to through the Entitlement Review process. I followed up last week, and received this very prompt response:

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Good afternoon, Thank you for contacting the Bureau of Pensions Advocates Ottawa. This is to confirm that we have initiated your claim for an Entitlement review on Hearing Loss. You will be getting a phone call from the Advocacy Officer assigned to your file to further discuss about your claim in the next 8 - 10 months. We are currently back logged and are trying to attend to all our clients as best we can. If you have any further questions, please contact us here through your MyVAC Account or by telephone at 1-877-228-2250 and select Ottawa. Have a good day,
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So....it appears that straightforward hearing stuff moves quickly, like most other claims. Adjustment on the other hand....is way less.

In the meantime, I have a built in excuse for not hearing what PPCLI Gal tells me to do...
 
I found VAC to be very responsive for my own stuff, but when my father became ill during COVID it seemed they couldn’t do enough for him.

They covered every eligible medical expense- (and it was a lot). And they did it within days and weeks not months. This was in March-August 2020.

The key, as noted above, was paperwork done correctly and clearly supporting medical documentation.

OTOH, BC medical billed me 3.45$ for every Tylenol he was given in the hospice where he died. 🤔.
 
Generally I have nothing but good things to say about VAC.

I was disappointed while trying to help someone submit a request for a mental health reassessment. Mbr was told VAC would take 5-6 months to send out the required paperwork. I'm not sure exactly what that entails but I can't imagine it's more than attaching a blank form to an email address or sending out the form snail mail. 6 months to send a blank form seems absurd.
 
I now have another one of my claims actioned and will be getting $67.77 a month. Don't have the document yet so no idea how they came to that amount but it is nice to at least finally have it completed after 2 years. No blame to VAC. The issue was getting the updated documentation from the med file. Had to resort to a freedom of information submission. 2 more in the decision stage that I am not overly confident in as there wasn't any documentation on file from the doctor. The new doctor I went to stated he was not able to really assign cause as it could now be due to age even though it is something that showed up when I was under 30. As he didn't see me then he can't say it existed then and was the result of X. It does have the history of complaints and actions taken to assist but no diagnosis which is what VAC indicated they needed.
 
I now have another one of my claims actioned and will be getting $67.77 a month. Don't have the document yet so no idea how they came to that amount but it is nice to at least finally have it completed after 2 years.

$67.77 a month sounds like a 5 -7% disability award (where you could instead opt for a lump sum of $22,049.60).

There's a way you can cross reference your disability percentage with the matrix that VAC uses to determine injuries.


It takes some digging around but you should be able to find your injury and see determining factors for different percentages.

A pain and suffering claim will be the injury plus quality of life (which I believe is 1-3%).
 
Generally I have nothing but good things to say about VAC.

I was disappointed while trying to help someone submit a request for a mental health reassessment. Mbr was told VAC would take 5-6 months to send out the required paperwork. I'm not sure exactly what that entails but I can't imagine it's more than attaching a blank form to an email address or sending out the form snail mail. 6 months to send a blank form seems absurd.
Its an action item that gets inputted into a Veterans VAC profile on VACs side. It becomes a flag item that can be easily seen as actioned/sent/completed. The CM/VSA would input it on the members profile as an action item and then the office Admin would see it and ensure its delivery to the Veteran either via their MYVACA or snail mail depending on their chosen communication preferences. Its really not that difficult. Now ensuring its actioned is another story.
 
I see there's a current news article in the National Post mentioning a first time VRAB Appeal win by someone who won his Appeal regarding Burn Pit - Environmental exposure while serving in Afghanistan. I dare say this will open the doors now to more claims.
 
$67.77 a month sounds like a 5 -7% disability award (where you could instead opt for a lump sum of $22,049.60).

There's a way you can cross reference your disability percentage with the matrix that VAC uses to determine injuries.


It takes some digging around but you should be able to find your injury and see determining factors for different percentages.

A pain and suffering claim will be the injury plus quality of life (which I believe is 1-3%).
Thanks, bookmarked the link this time so hopefully won't lose it. They sure don't make it easy to wade through it all, will be interesting to receive the letter so I can see how they determined everything and compare to what I come up with. May be some factors they don't have and need updating as the original application was 2 years ago and things change.
 
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