Veterans Affairs committee  An individual is eligible for health-related benefits depending on his own circumstances. For various benefits, the department had always required authorization in advance of receiving the benefit. So in certain instances an individual or the health care supplier or provider would have had to first contact the department to determine whether or not the individual was eligible for the benefit, and then get formal approval for it.

Veterans Affairs committee  That would depend on the individual.

Veterans Affairs committee  I can't answer that, sitting here, but I could probably find you an average claim. We have claims that are very small because people will submit them more frequently, or very large claims because some veterans will retain all of their health-related travel information for a period of six months to a year and then submit it at the end of that time period.

Veterans Affairs committee  Yes, those.... We do average about 5,500 claims per month.

Veterans Affairs committee  With the veterans independence program, it was announced that we will no longer be requiring people to submit receipts, and we will have contribution arrangements established for the grounds maintenance and housekeeping services so that people would receive the funds up front. They would be provided an annual grant, and it would be paid in semi-annual payments.

Veterans Affairs committee  I can provide an average for housekeeping and grounds maintenance. Essentially, the message for the veterans is that they not be out-of-pocket. They don't have to be out-of-pocket. They don't have to wait for us to reimburse. It's a grant. They don't have to keep the receipts.

Veterans Affairs committee  They can deal with us by telephone. They can deal with us in person. Case managers do go out to visit veterans. The Legion has a number of service officers who actually assist. I don't want to speak for them. You can obtain services online. You can obtain services by telephone.

Veterans Affairs committee  We took privacy very seriously when we looked at what were we doing with My VAC Account and whether we were able to respond. That's possibly why it took us a certain amount of time to develop it, so that it was secure. People bank online. People do all kinds of things online. We would use similar technology so that what veterans submit online is secure from the time it leaves them to the time it leaves us.

Veterans Affairs committee  Do you mean to sign on, or to make an application?

Veterans Affairs committee  The initiative that you are asking about is reimbursement to veterans for their travel related to medical appointments. In the past, we required individuals to submit receipts for every health-related travel claim that they submitted to the department. As of recently—a matter of months ago—the department no longer requires health-related travel receipts to accompany a travel claim.

Veterans Affairs committee  With the new My VAC Account, veterans can submit a first application for disability benefits. It is a secure method of submitting an account. Only the individuals within the department who would use the information to adjudicate the claim would have access to the account. For instance, I would have access to no information at all.

Veterans Affairs committee  Thank you, David. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am the director of strategic initiatives at Veterans Affairs. I'm happy to be here today to discuss the department's ongoing efforts to simplify our processes and improve our services to veterans. The department is committed to cutting red tape to ensure that veterans receive the support and services they need, quickly and efficiently.

Veterans Affairs committee  I'd have to say that case managers going to visit veterans happens on a regular basis. If you were to ask me if it was 75% or 85% of their time, I'd have to come back and respond at another time. All of our case managers are not sitting in offices waiting for veterans to come to them.

Veterans Affairs committee  We've streamlined the forms and applications that veterans need to fill out. We've tried to simplify the number of times an individual has to come back to us for authorization for a similar service—a second year or a third year. We no longer require people to sign renewal forms and send them in all the time.

Veterans Affairs committee  That's a very good question. It depends on the complexity of the requirement or the case. I can't speak to individual cases, but 85% of our rehab requests are processed within two weeks. With the remaining 15%, it could take a day longer or it could take a couple of weeks longer.