The VAC service standard for rehabilitation program decisions is two weeks. A medically released Veteran applied for the VAC rehabilitation program prior to releasing from the CAF, but did not receive a decision for five months because VAC said it was waiting for medical information from the CAF. During the five-month waiting period between release and decision date, the Veteran was not eligible to receive the monthly Income Replacement Benefit (IRB) nor were they able to receive rehabilitation treatments, paid for by VAC, for the conditions that had resulted in their release from the CAF and which were creating a barrier to a successful transition.
Although the client was finally approved for the rehabilitation program and began to receive the IRB, the client felt that the delay to reach a decision was unfair and, as a result, it had deprived her of five months of IRB. The client appealed the decision unsuccessfully at two levels, both of which upheld the original effective date of the decision, before reaching out to the OVO.
The OVO assessed the Veteran’s file and determined that the Department had sufficient information for a decision to be made on the rehabilitation application when it was originally submitted by the client, and it was unfair that this decision was delayed. The OVO concluded that had VAC accessed the Veteran’s records, the application would have been decided in a timely manner.
The OVO recommended that VAC adjust the effective date, compensate the Veteran for medical expenses incurred to treat the eligible health conditions and provide the IRB that would have been paid if the decision had been made earlier. VAC accepted the recommendations and agreed to alter the effective date of decision to five months prior to the original decision date. A retroactive payment for income replacement benefit was made to the Veteran and they were reimbursed for the rehabilitation treatment expenses incurred during that time.
