During the dominion convention in August, there were many questions on the definition of a contract bed and a preferred admission bed.

As part of Canada’s commitment to the care of injured, disabled and aging veterans, Veterans Affairs Canada supports veterans who require facility-based care. This care is provided in provincially licensed, regulated or operated health-care facilities, most of which provide care to other provincial residents as well as veterans, including in the following settings:

•Facilities such as nursing homes and other long-term care facilities with beds that are open to veterans as well as other provincial residents; and

•Facilities with beds designated through contractual arrangements with the province, health authority and/or facility for priority access for veterans of the Second World War and Korean War. These are defined as contract beds.

Eligibility for long-term care support for veterans, as well as the type of long-term care setting, depends on the type and location of military service, income, health-care need, and whether the need for long-term care is related to a disability from military service.

VAC contributes up to 100 per cent of the cost of contract beds, depending on the veteran’s eligibility and the facility they access.

All other veterans—such as those who served with Allied armed forces, war veterans who served in Canada only, and Canadian Armed Forces veterans who need care due to service-related disability or frailty—may be eligible for financial support for long-term care in community beds. Veterans can access these beds in the same manner as other Canadians and may be placed on a provincial waiting list.

Prior to June 2016, there was increased demand on VAC to broaden the eligibility for contract beds at former veterans’ hospitals. VAC responded by working with provincial partners to reach agreements to re-profile beds that respected existing program eligibilities and allowed expedited access to a broader group of veterans (including Allied veterans, Canada service veterans and CAF veterans) at 18 former veterans’ hospitals. This became known as the preferred admission beds initiative.