VAC Disability Backlog

Chaud wrote:I think it is a bright idea. I just think VAC wouldn't think of doing it!  

well they definitely need to do something, I’d just like to seem more transparent details, like a break down of the 50000 claims, how many are submitted by veterans already over 100%, how many are part of the 6 consequential injuries to PTSD that VAC said a year ago would be written off etc

I think it is a bright idea. I just think VAC wouldn't think of doing it!

Chaud wrote:

Unknown Soldier wrote:I think the easiest solution to lessen the back log, would be to take every application for a disability that belongs to a veteran that is already listed at 100% disabled, and just grant it favourably. VAC loses no money paying a monthly or lump sum, it just means the veteran now gets to have their treatment covered free, or maybe a medical item to improve their quality of life.

Fairy tales sometimes come true!

and what are your bright ideas? This one makes the most sense, and is the most cost effective. It’s a lot more rational than other ideas I’ve heard like, granting all 50000 claims as favourable and starting fresh, that’s ludicrous.

Unknown Soldier wrote:I think the easiest solution to lessen the back log, would be to take every application for a disability that belongs to a veteran that is already listed at 100% disabled, and just grant it favourably. VAC loses no money paying a monthly or lump sum, it just means the veteran now gets to have their treatment covered free, or maybe a medical item to improve their quality of life.

Fairy tales sometimes come true!

I think the easiest solution to lessen the back log, would be to take every application for a disability that belongs to a veteran that is already listed at 100% disabled, and just grant it favourably. VAC loses no money paying a monthly or lump sum, it just means the veteran now gets to have their treatment covered free, or maybe a medical item to improve their quality of life.

My application hit the 65 weeks this week. When I contacted Vac they told me they were working on Oct 2018 claims. My claim is seriously one of the easiest claims out there. Knee injury that happened in the military, when to physio for it while serving...Xrays show OA. You really can't get any easier to put a file together for approval...yet still waiting over a year.

Don't understand where the application times come from in these news articles. Possible from VAC and fudged so they don't look so bad. I have a hearing REASSESSMENT currently at stage 2 and it is now in week 17. I had a hearing test in Feb and there was a change in my hearing that should increase my disability level from 5 to 10%. Am I to think that there are so many hearing REASSESSMENTS underway that there is a huge backlog of applications?????
I also have an application for a disability which is now in week 78. I am not a medical expert but I developed a physical condition that was supported by my Doctor as well as receiving treatment from a Medical Specialist. It doesn't appear to be that complicated to me. My inquires always state that files that are 4 to 6 months older then mine are being worked on.  So my logical deduction is that every application after mine is still waiting in the queue. And finally, I had an application submitted in 2016. It was denied so I appealed and won my case. From my initial application to finally receiving my award was 4 years and was only finalized after I emailed the Minister of Veteran affairs who, I believe, interceded on my behalf and settlement was reached soon after I sent the email. So, am I the only one with these stories?? I think not. So the numbers published by news outlets, in my opinion are false. There is one article that states that approx 30% of all applications are settled within the 16 weeks standard as set by VAC.  Does anyone know of anybody that in the last 5 years was this fortunate? So my friends, with the hiring of 300 more adjudicators I am hopeful my applications get settled by 2022 and if not then I may have to send another email to the minister.

Howie1 wrote:Thanks for the note Teen as I appreciate it. If i don't hear anything in the next couple of weeks, I may just do that. I just wonder how VAC gets the word out that its only 30 some weeks for a single application when its nowhere even close to that. I mean on their wait time tool it even says 65 weeks. In march it was 46 weeks on that tool display.  So the wait time has gone up 19 weeks in the 16 weeks time span. Thats VAC math and competency for you.

I’m going to send a note inquiring about my file, just to make sure it hasn’t been lost as it’s only been 56 weeks stage 3, single condition ...pretty sure the response will have some mention of C-19, but I better poke them.

Thanks for the note Teen as I appreciate it. If i don't hear anything in the next couple of weeks, I may just do that. I just wonder how VAC gets the word out that its only 30 some weeks for a single application when its nowhere even close to that. I mean on their wait time tool it even says 65 weeks. In march it was 46 weeks on that tool display.  So the wait time has gone up 19 weeks in the 16 weeks time span. Thats VAC math and competency for you.

Howie1 wrote:"The average wait time to process an application is 34 weeks. The service standard is supposed to be 16 weeks."

What a load of crap. I posted a comment on that article. I'm already at 70 weeks now for a single condition application. Initial application October 2018, VAC lost the paperwork from my Doctor (Wow what a suprise!!) so resubmitted in early 2019. They are still working on files from august 2018...So yea when they actually get to march 2019 i will be over 100 weeks waiting at stage 3...

Howie if you are up to it call/text/email a reporter (Murray Brewster of CBC he has been an advocate for veterans going on 25 years), tell him about your situation.

If I can suggest you point out the time you have waited but emphasize that they lost your paperwork from the doctor and put you back to the bottom of the pile instead of prioritizing you from their damn mistake!!! If you are up to it call it what it is VAC ADJUDICATORS ARE NOT COMPETENT! THEY ARE LAZY BUT MOST OF ALL THEY HAVE NO PRIDE IN THEIR JOB AND YOU HAVE 50,000 VETERANS WITH APPLICATIONS BEING PROCESSED THAT ARE WATCHING YOUR SIX!

This is proof that Bureaucrats of ALL stripes in Ottawa control Canada. Not the elected MP in your riding. Not the elected Prime Minister who appoints and MP to the Minister of Veterans Affairs. The senior bureaucrats who roam the halls of Ottawa, and PEI, are the ones in charge. Elected politicians are nothing but marionettes waiting to have their strings attached by said bureaucrats.

Proof? 50,000 applications that are taking way beyond the said standard of time to process applications for DISABLED VETERANS who have little to no income because they are too injured to work.

Absolute proof? Has the Assistant Deputy Minister (ADM) in charge of applications been given a reprimand? Poor performance evaluation? A demotion? Has said ADM made any changes to the work environment? Implemented a quota system?

And one more important point....Has said ADM received a yearly bonus at all over the last 4 years? I'm 99.9% positive that this incompetent ADM did get their yearly bonus.

"The average wait time to process an application is 34 weeks. The service standard is supposed to be 16 weeks."

What a load of crap. I posted a comment on that article. I'm already at 70 weeks now for a single condition application. Initial application October 2018, VAC lost the paperwork from my Doctor (Wow what a suprise!!) so resubmitted in early 2019. They are still working on files from august 2018...So yea when they actually get to march 2019 i will be over 100 weeks waiting at stage 3...

I don't know or am not aware of anything MVA MacAulay has actually accomplished what he said he would......other than remembering the fallen.

Don't get me wrong....remembering the fallen and their sacrifices appears is a good thing....but is seems that is all any MVA was/is able to get done? All they are good at is laying wreaths and suggesting and or having monuments erected.....but how about looking after the living....the one's who need help!

I do recall the previous hiring of additional employees with the backlog ......plenty of money to go around except for veterans and their families.....sad!

Riddick

Yeah hire 300 temporary staff to clear the backlog that the 160 that were hired 2 years ago to clear the backlog....guess the Minister didn't get the memo that doing the same thing over and over with the same outcome is the definition of insanity!

Oh wait...I forgot about the memo released by VAC bureaucrats stating that "Veterans are a source of employment opportunities. Easy job. No interaction with veterans applications. No repercussions for lack of production. And last but most important...300 more union paying members."

Anybody else get the feeling that the target date of March 2022 to clear the backlog is more of a campaign promise then a Government in Charge promise?

FYI

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/veterans-affairs-disability-backlog-1.5631689

Nearly half of the 46,000 disability applications before Veterans Affairs Canada are considered backlogged — but federal officials insisted today they finally have a plan to deal with it.

For many years, the number of incoming claims has outstripped the department's ability to process them within its self-imposed service timelines.

The backlog is partly the result of changes introduced by both the former Conservative government and the current Liberal one that expanded or redrafted the list of entitlements.

Veterans Affairs has announced it is hiring 300 more full-time staff over the next two years to focus on the most common applications, including those for hearing loss, tinnitus and musculoskeletal conditions.

"Veterans should receive the benefits and services they're entitled to in a timely manner, and the current backlog is unacceptable," said Cameron McNeil, a spokesperson for Veterans Affairs Minister Lawrence MacAulay.

"The recent investment of nearly $90 million that our government made will allow Veterans Affairs to hire hundreds of new staff and speed up processes to ensure veterans receive faster decisions. This has been the minister's number one priority since he was sworn in, and we will continue to do everything we can to address the backlog."

The department said it expects to have the new staff trained and in place by January of next year. Senior department officials said they hope to get the backlog down to below 5,000 files with the new measures, and to eliminate all overdue applications by March 2022.

"We're going to go as fast as we can," said one senior official, who spoke on-background at a teleconference briefing earlier today.

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The plan also envisions hiring an unspecified number of temporary employees to deal with the backlog.

The proposals were presented last week to the House of Commons veterans committee for study.

For months, the veterans department has tried to reassure veterans advocates and groups that represent former soldiers that it is taking action by limiting mandatory medical consultations and simplifying the tools claims adjudicators use to assess disability.

Last year, the federal government streamlined the process for post traumatic stress disorder applications, introducing a less specific form for doctors to fill out.

The average wait time to process an application is 34 weeks. The service standard is supposed to be 16 weeks.

Different files pass through the system at different speeds, depending on their complexity. For example, a first-time PTSD claim takes an average of 34 weeks to get through the system, according to a Veterans Affairs online calculator. But a veteran who has multiple conditions in addition to mental health issues can wait 53 weeks to have applications processed.