VAC wait times

[PPCLI Guy]

I just had 6 of 9 outstanding claims from Dec 2019 settled, so that rings true

 

[FJAG]

Just thought I'd throw this in here.

Learned about possible compensation for tinnitus from this thread. Put in a claim late last year and its been resolved in my favour two weeks ago. Considering that the biggest delay was getting my doctor to sign off on the paperwork, VACs handling of the case was blazingly fast.

Quite pleased with VAC.

 

[kev994]

Just thought I'd throw this in here.

Learned about possible compensation for tinnitus from this thread. Put in a claim late last year and its been resolved in my favour two weeks ago. Considering that the biggest delay was getting my doctor to sign off on the paperwork, VACs handling of the case was blazingly fast.

Quite pleased with VAC.

It’s random. I got a favourable decision on mechanical lower back pain in 2 months. Typical wait time for that one in particular is notoriously around the 2 year mark. My hearing loss was like a year and a half.

 

[Lance Wiebe]

So I finally got an answer to my claim.
It was approved, specifically for degenerative disc disease, but the approval just said "approved five fifths".
I have no idea what they mean by five fifths, and there was nothing in the letter explaining what that means, or what I may be entitled to.
Can anyone explain to me what this "fifths" mean?

Lance

 

[PuckChaser]

It means full entitlement. VAC rates on a scale of 5 whether your claim is service connected. 5/5 is fully connected, 0/5 not connected. Your disability benefit is then on a percentage scale of the maximum award.

5/5 and 10% means you get the full 10% of the maximum disability benefit ($360k is max I think).

 

[Lance Wiebe]

Okay, thanks for the explanation.
I didn't see anything about percenatages in the letter, I guess that will come in another letter sometime.....

 

[The Bread Guy]

These highlights from the Auditor General out today ....

... 2.9 Overall, we found that despite Veterans Affairs Canada’s initiatives to speed up the processing of applications for disability benefits, veterans were still waiting a long time to receive compensation for injuries sustained in their service to Canada. Veterans applying for disability benefits for the first time waited a median* of 39 weeks for a decision, which is a long way from the department’s service standard of 16 weeks in 80% of cases.

2.10 The department’s data on how it processes benefits applications—and the organization of this data—was poor. As a result, the department did not know if its initiatives sped up application processing or even if any of its initiatives slowed down processing. We also found that the department did not always calculate wait times consistently, which meant that veterans waited longer than the department reported publicly.

2.11 The department lacked a long‑term staffing plan to help address the long wait times. The department hired term employees to help process the backlog of applications. However, some of them left the department before the end of their term to take jobs that offered more security. The department needs a stable workforce to process disability benefits. The department also needs an improved data management system to help ensure that veterans do not wait months or even years to receive benefits to support their physical and mental health ....

* - 1/2 more than 39 weeks, 1/2 less than 39 weeks

Recommendations?

• Veterans Affairs Canada should address weaknesses in the quality and organization of its data. This would allow the department to better monitor the Disability Benefits program and use the data to inform decision making about efficiency improvements.
  
  
• Veterans Affairs Canada should work with central government agencies to establish a sustainable long‑term resourcing plan for processing disability benefit applications in a timely manner. This plan should consider the number of applications the department expects to receive and the efficiency it expects to gain from its process improvement initiatives.

 

[PuckChaser]

Theyre working on April 2020 right now... what a train wreck.

 

[Soldieratheart]

Theyre working on April 2020 right now... what a train wreck.

It is sad that they get away with constantly telling the lie of 39 week average when the reality for many is 2 years +

 

[meni0n]

Theyre working on April 2020 right now... what a train wreck.

I got a claim from January 2020 still in process. If they tell you they sent it to the Advisory section, apparently there is no time limit how long it can stay there.

 

[Ignatius]

I got a claim from January 2020 still in process. If they tell you they sent it to the Advisory section, apparently there is no time limit how long it can stay there.

One new thing I noticed in My VAC Account as of today 14 June 2022 is a newly revamp look for Step 3 Decision Making step. They added in a new look sub-sections of Step 3 showing where exactly and what your application is doing during Step 3. See figure below.

 

[kev994]

Mine does not look like that, at least on the mobile version.

 

[ArmyRick]

Following. Going to keep an eye of this for more info.

 

[Weinie]

Mine does not look like that, at least on the mobile version. View attachment 71384

I would hope that "what does this mean" "means" some sort of resolution for our folks.

 

[kratz]

early April 2022 - early May 2022,
30 days from submitting my reassessment to receiving approval for increasing the injury award.

 

[PuckChaser]

Wait time tool is up for me. Still waiting for my application to be assigned to a decision maker, since September 2020. They must have only 1 person working for them...

 

[kev994]

I would hope that "what does this mean" "means" some sort of resolution for our folks.

Nope, if you click on it you get a pop up that explains that step 3 is where they make a decision and that it only goes there when they get all of the required documents

 

[Firebird]

My departmental review was at Step 3 and yesterday it changed to More Information. When I clicked on it there was no information and indicated I needed to call them to get an update. I called and was told that they could not see any more information than I was seeing. What a dumpster fire of an organization. As hard as it is to accept the long delays it is the pure stupidity that is unforgivable.

 

[Eye In The Sky]

It’s random. I got a favourable decision on mechanical lower back pain in 2 months. Typical wait time for that one in particular is notoriously around the 2 year mark. My hearing loss was like a year and a half.

Was your hearing loss flying related? Wondering how that process went for an aircrew mbr. I’ve spent a few hours sitting between 4 x T-56s and half the time with one headset off…my Ann hearing test has shown a decline over the last several years.

Before going blue, there was fair amounts of time on the small arms/MG/SRAAW/grenade range etc.

 

[kev994]

Was your hearing loss flying related?

it’s hard to say because it’s unilateral, which is presumably why it took so long. But BPA assured me that it’s immaterial (turns out they were right). All you have to prove is that you joined with one level of hearing (recruiting medical) and you don’t have that anymore (I think the threshold is 25 dB for an award but I could be mixing that with something else) and you were exposed to loud noises (easy for aircrew).