A new immediate support for Veterans: the Mental Health Benefits

November 22, 2022 - Defence Stories

By: Veterans Affairs Canada

Mental health is vital to our overall well-being, but unlike other wounds, our internal struggles can often be harder to spot and treat. So many aspects of our lives are affected by our mental health, which is why it’s important to get the right treatment when we need it.

On 1 April 2022, Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) launched the new Mental Health Benefits that provide coverage for the mental health support and services you need, as fast as possible. With Mental Health Benefits, you can get immediate coverage for treatment of mental health conditions such as anxiety disorders, depressive disorders, and trauma-and-stressor-related disorders.

The objective of the Mental Health Benefits is to ensure that all applicants for mental health conditions can access mental health support while their application is being reviewed. They kick in as soon as VAC receives the disability benefit application. If the disability benefit application is approved, your coverage is immediately switched over to the Treatment Benefits program without interruptions to any ongoing treatment.

What does it mean for serving Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members?

If you apply for a disability benefit while serving, you will become eligible for Mental Health Benefits the day after your transition to civilian life.

The Mental Health Benefits are available for many groups:

• CAF Veterans (including those living outside of Canada);
• Still-serving Reserve Force members on Class A or Class B service (180 days or less) who are not covered by the CAF healthcare plan; and
• Reserve Force members, including the Supplementary Reserve, the Primary Reserve, the Cadet Organizations Administration and Training Service (COATS) and the Canadian Rangers.

The Mental Health Benefits coverage does not affect your eligibility for any other VAC benefits, services, or programs. Learn more by reading VAC FAQs.

You can keep up to date on news about all VAC services via My VAC Account, Facebook (you are now leaving the Government of Canada website) and Twitter (you are now leaving the Government of Canada website), or by subscribing to VAC Salute! newsletter.

Let’s work together to support your mental health.