Helping Veterans Access Their Health Care Entitlements

The ex-serving community aren't accessing the DVA healthcare programs they're entitled to; programs that often mean veterans pay less to access the support they need. This is because Veterans often aren't aware of what's available - even if they are, they're unclear whether they meet the eligibility criteria. This is coupled with a perception that the process to access these benefits is complex and time-consuming. The brief: Design and pilot a new service experience that identifies, informs, and supports members to proactively access their full range of entitlements.

Together we designed and piloted a claims experience that successfully: Identifies eligible veterans, engaging with them to understand their context and relevant options. Informs them with relevant information at the right time in their healthcare journey in the various formats individual members need to understand and act. Supports veterans, providing them with confidence to navigate the process through personalised guidance. Delivered by a phone-based concierge team with specialised knowledge on entitlements and eligibility, this service was successful in guiding members from being unaware to aware and proactively claiming benefits they're eligible for.

The service delivered real change for veterans, and Defence Health. Over a 2 week pilot we spoke to ~40 members. 100% of those identified as eligible planned to claim or find out more because of the service. Provides veterans with the right information and support to access healthcare benefits they're entitled to. Having the option of claiming with DVA often means no out-of-pocket expenses for veterans, reducing their cost of living. Demonstrates Defence Health's position as a leading healthcare partner for the veteran community, providing specialised support - ultimately improving member satisfaction and retention.

Together Future Friendly and Defence Health designed and operationalised a scalable service to efficiently identify, inform and support members through claiming mental health and cancer benefits with the DVA. Through centralised, accessible service tools staff were given the knowledge and confidence they needed to provide members with contextually relevant information in the way that best supports them. Service guides: The design team worked hand in hand with the service team, to focus on members feeling heard, understood and confident in their next steps. This was done by clearly outlining the problem members were facing and what they needed support with - validated with 127 members over 10 weeks. Operational tools: Journey maps, operational flows, eligibility canvases, identification processes were designed to ensure the service team members were able to focus on delivering value to members whilst also reducing the cost to serve. "We were able to move from discovery and design quickly into pilot, iterating on that, and seeing real immediate results is really rewarding. We now have a long-term roadmap to continue to scale the service to include a greater range of support for more veterans." - Candice Liew, Defense Health.