Canada veterans Will Need to Verify Lost Limbs Every Three Years, Instead of Annually

[Panich52]

HuffPo

OTTAWA - A wounded soldier who lost both legs in Afghanistan will have to verify his condition and the kind of support needed, including his wheelchair, to Veterans Affairs every three years, rather than annually under a policy change.

The revision was quietly unveiled in the House of Commons on Friday by Pierre Lemieux, parliamentary secretary to the veterans minister.

In addition, Lemieux told opposition parties that veterans who are required to complete these renewals under the veterans independence program will have six months to hand in the paperwork, considerably longer than under the current system.

Paul Franklin, who was a master corporal when he lost his legs in a 2006 roadside bombing in Kandahar, has long complained about the veterans system and its annual review.

He says he was well looked after at National Defence, but has faced a bureaucratic nightmare since retiring almost six years ago and coming under the veterans department.

His plight caused a political sensation and even drew the attention of comedian Rick Mercer, who devoted a rant to the subject.

A spokesman for Veterans Affairs Minister Erin O'Toole stressed the process is not meant to reconfirm the injury, but to track changes in the condition of ex-soldier.

...

"Veterans who face serious injuries face potentially a fluctuating health condition related to the original injury. Veterans Affairs has a responsibility to proactively update the government to ensure they have the necessary support and treatment for their current condition."

Magnan also said the government "places the highest priority on making sure Veterans and their families have the support and services they need, when they need it."

Franklin wasn't immediately available to comment Friday.

In early February, he told CTV's Canada AM that veterans affairs treats him and other ex-soldiers as though they are trying to cheat the system.

The department required him to justify annually why he still qualified for home-care services and income replacement because of his disability.

The disputes got so bad, Franklin had his wheelchair taken away from him twice because it wasn't clear which department should pay for it and which doctor's notes were needed.

More
http://m.huffpost.com/ca/entry/6771856

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Reminds me a bit of PA's bureaucratic requirement that I get a doctor's prescription to replace a worn-out or no-longer-fits-right leg. And I'm not even a vet.

[hobbit709]

1. WTF?

[daredtowork]

2. The US system is just as bad if not worse

This is why I cringe when I hear Dems answer Teabagger baseless/cherry-picked accusations of fraud with "more fraud investigation". From the other side I can see the constant paperwork, surveillance, and the delay and errors that inevitably accompany red tape are a boundless cause of stress, time suckage, and indignity that prevent people in poverty from getting out of their situation. These people need a LIGHTER load to move forward. Keeping them mired in society's fraud-prevention bureacracy will prevent them from going anywhere, and probably add mental and physical health problems they didn't have before as they struggle to cope with the constant avalanche of bureaucratic BS.

[hobbit709]

3. I've gotten better treatment with the VA than i ever got from United Healthcare.

[Telcontar]

6. Agreed

I'm sure many have had VA nightmares, but every time I've been to the VA, I've received excellent care.

[daredtowork]

8. I heard it took longer to get disability from the VA than SSI

Last edited Sat Mar 14, 2015, 08:47 PM - Edit history (1)

And it can take 3 years to get SSI.

It sounds like something has been done about the epic waiting list scandal, though...?

[Telcontar]

11. My claim took seven months to adjudicate

But in the meantime, since I had been in an active campaign, I was bwing treated at the VA free of charge. I cannot say anything bad about the four different VA hospitals I've been treated in. My two surgical experiences were very satisfactory.

[daredtowork]

13. Your story seems unusual! nt

[Telcontar]

14. I guess. Was at the time living in Portland OR

Went to the VA facility attached to the teaching hospital. Had a class of MD students come through every day with the doctor doing rounds. Nursing student sponge baths weren't unwelcome either.

[Orsino]

7. National health care is so good that amputees are regrowing lost limbs.

Or something.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

10. Sacrifice an arm and/or a leg and they'll give you the finger.

[Spirochete]

4. What the hell?

Do they think they might grow them back or something?

[mythology]

9. I think it's that the Canadian government

Is run by the Black Knight and that a lost limb is just a flesh wound.

[Spazito]

5. The treatment of veterans by the current neocon government in Canada has been...

so atrocious veterans, who have been a voting block the cons could count on, are working to defeat this government.

Angry veterans group plans campaign against Harper's Conservatives

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/angry-veterans-group-plans-campaign-against-harper-s-conservatives-1.2833635

[petronius]

12. I hope that's just poorly expressed - viewed in a better light, it seems that any

patient should be entitled to have his/her case evaluated on a regular basis, to ensure that the services being provided are completely up to date and meeting as effectively as possible the evolving needs of the patient. But the onus should be on the VA to demonstrate that it's doing its job properly, not on the patient to demonstrate a continuing need for services...