Health cap on veterans scrapped

Baw Baw Veteran and Family Services manager Ben Vahland is relieved the Federal Government has revoked its proposed $5000 annual cap on allied health services for veterans.

"I am very relieved the government has finally listened, but it has taken months of advocacy, when it should never have been necessary in the first place, and the harm it has caused in that time cannot be quantified," Mr Vahland said.

"I have no doubt veterans have succumbed to their demons in that time and this has been a contributing factor."

Mr Vahland said the Federal Government had a responsibility to look after its veterans, and what happened to one veteran, happened to all veterans.
"Governments are happy to send veterans off to war in the name of the country. We know the trauma that eventuates and the extreme hardship that people in the services have to navigate. The reality is, it breaks us," he said.
"We are not asking for any more than what we are entitled to, than what is legislated. And we simply want to be able prosper after serving our country."
Mr Vahland said he was grateful to Member for Monash Mary Aldred for listening to the voices of veterans and taking their stories to parliament to explain how detrimental the cap would be for veterans.
Ms Aldred said the decision to back down and scrap the cruel health cap on veterans was long overdue.
"This backflip is a win for veterans across Australia who joined the Coalition to stand up and fight against a shameful decision to impose a $5000 cap," Ms Aldred said.
"However, our veterans should never have had to fight for access to allied health services they deserve. It was unfair, unjust and just bad policy."
Ms Aldred wrote to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in June, strongly opposing the proposed $5000 annual cap on allied health services for veterans and calling on him to reverse the decision.
She also spoke in Parliament, demanding it be axed and voicing the outrage felt by veterans across Monash electorate.
"The cruel and shameful decision caused months of hurt and anger amongst our veteran community," she said. "It never should have happened."
Veterans with complex or chronic needs said a $5000 cap wouldn't go close to covering the allied healthcare they required. They feared it would force them to go without treatment, worsen their conditions or push the burden of care onto families or household budgets.
"Thank you to the Monash veterans and their families who shared their stories, experiences and concerns, as well as local RSLs who strongly advocated for the $5000 cap to be axed," Ms Aldred said.