It depends on what form it is. There are some forms where there is confusion even with the doctors about whether they are able to bill VAC. With the SISIP forms, are they able to bill SISIP? Depending on which form it is and on the doctor and their awareness, you end up getting a different answer. If you're using a walk-in clinic, a lot of walk-in clinics have never dealt with Veterans Affairs before and don't know what they can submit a bill for and what they can't submit for. There's not always that much direction.
I didn't look through the forms that I got this morning too closely because they were a little bit overwhelming, but I don't recall actually seeing any instruction to the doctors on whether or not the doctors could file for reimbursement to VAC or if I may end up being on the hook for that. It's not always that clear, and this also creates some barriers. We're not sure if I am going to have to dish out $100 for a doctor to fill out these forms that SISIP is demanding yet again, even though they've already classified me as permanently disabled, or is my doctor able to actually submit it to SISIP for coverage? It's not always clear, and this is for SISIP and VAC. So maybe that's something that needs to be worked on.
A really minor point, but perhaps a sign of how things have shifted, is that while SISIP gives us prepaid envelopes when they send out documents and ask us to send them back, Veterans Affairs does not. We have to go out and get our own bloody stamps. It's such a minor thing, but sometimes you have difficulty getting out of the house on any given day or there's a time limit on getting these forms back, and you can't make it to a store to get a stamp and you're at risk of having benefits cut because you can't manage that day to get to the store and get a dollar stamp. It's an artificial barrier that's almost.... It's disgusting.
I do want to go back to the previous question you asked Reginald about the different forms of connection that veterans can get. There is no end of social media groups on Facebook and other platforms that are devoted to connecting veterans with each other. Some of the best peer support ones are on there. Send up the Count, run by Brian Harding and his colleagues, is one of the most fabulous, outstanding methods of peer support that actually gets us drawn in and get us opening up.
Jamie MacWhirter with PTSD Buddies is going across Canada right now trying to get even more word out on there. It's another peer support group that is actually working.
The Legion—and this comment is going to result in my getting hate mail—has perhaps run out of time. Part of the reason they are not seen by the young generation joining up is that we are not made to feel welcome. We have not been made to feel welcome for quite some time. The changes that occurred.... The way the World War II veterans were treated by the World War I veterans is a similar story. The way the Korean War veterans were treated by the World War II veterans is a similar story. But the problem here right now is that it's not the peacekeeping veterans and the Korean War veterans and a handful of World War II veterans who are treating us badly when we try to go in, but the sheer number of people who have never served who are in positions of power and who make us feel so unwelcome that we turn around and ask, “Why the hell should we be part of this?” With social media, we don't need brick and mortars groups. We are able to connect.
I use social media for a lot for my research and I'm in connection on a daily basis with soldiers and veterans from all over the world. I don't need a Legion to do this. The Legion is more of a barrier.