Let’s talk about cancer
Did you know that DVA may cover the cost of cancer treatment, even if the cancer is unrelated to your service?
Under Non-Liability Health Care (NLHC), DVA can provide fully funded treatment for cancer (malignant neoplasm) and pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) for some veterans.
Under DVA’s NLHC arrangements, we may cover the cost of eligible veterans’ cancer and TB treatment without the need to prove that their military service caused the condition.
While the treatment is fully funded by DVA, eligibility is limited to veterans who have performed certain types of Defence Service, generally Operational Service or some types of full-time service rendered between December 1972 and April 1994. This includes National Servicemen who completed their full period of National Service after 7 December 1972. To be eligible, veterans also need to have a formal diagnosis of the relevant condition/s.
You will need to have a Veteran Gold or White Card that covers cancer or TB treatment. White Card holders can apply to have the condition added by lodging form D9215 with the Department or through MyService. DVA can pay for treatment up to 3 months prior to the date a claim for treatment is lodged with the Department.
If your White Card covers cancer and TB, this may include treatment by a general practitioner, medical specialist, oncologist and a hospital.
Your Veteran White Card also gives you access to cheaper prescriptions for the conditions that your card covers. You may be eligible for a Veterans Supplement to help towards the cost of medications, unless you’re already receiving an equivalent payment from Centrelink.
More information on cancer and TB treatment, including details about eligibility, is available on the DVA website.