Veteran on Invictus team says he's out thousands of dollars after being injured on the court
Veterans on team have to buy their own medical insurance while serving members are covered
A Canadian Armed Forces veteran who was a poster boy for Canada's 2023 Invictus Games team now says he is thousands of dollars out of pocket after learning he was not covered by medical insurance for injuries he sustained while representing his country.
Scott Snow went to Dusseldorf, Germany to participate in archery, rowing and wheelchair rugby. During his first rugby match, the wheelchair he was using toppled backwards, slamming him onto the court floor and injuring his head, neck and spine.
Nearly a year and two surgeries later, Snow told CBC News he has had to pay thousands of dollars to cover assisted living arrangements and has been forced to abandon some therapy altogether for financial reasons.
If Snow had been one of the serving Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members on the team, those expenses would have been covered by the CAF health care plan.
Veterans on Canada's Invictus team are responsible for arranging and paying for their own insurance — something Snow and other veterans on the team said was never fully explained to them before they went to Germany.
"It's unfathomable that there is a two-tier system ... If the person next to me got shot with a bow and arrow and I got shot with a bow and arrow, for the rest of their life they're covered, any expenses, any modifications. And I have to rely on my credit card," he told CBC News.
Snow was a high-profile team member.
His journey to the games in Dusseldorf was the subject of a promotional video produced to highlight the games. In that video, he discusses his two daughters, the 12 surgeries he has undergone for service-related injuries and his battle with PTSD and depression.
The 43-year-old retired navy diver and special forces operator from Newfoundland and Labrador said he applied to join the 2023 Invictus team so that his daughters, who were too young to see him in uniform before his medical retirement, could watch him represent his country.
"When I received my letter, I cried. It was like my chance for my swan song ... I never thought in 1,000 years I would get a chance to go out the way I wanted to," he said.
"I thought it was going to be life-changing and it was."
In his opening rugby match against the United States in Dusseldorf on Sept. 10, 2023, Snow was in a chair that did not have a restraint strap. He told CBC News that he reached up to catch a ball and fell backwards. Video of the incident shows his head and back slamming into the floor under the weight of his 250-pound frame.
Snow finished the game unaware of the damage the fall had caused. Afterwards, he said, he went to see the team doctor and German medical professionals on site. He said they told him he didn't need an X-ray.
Upon returning to Canada and resuming physiotherapy for his service-related injuries, he said, his therapist urged him to get an X-ray to determine the cause of the loss of sensation and tingling in his hands and feet.
That X-ray revealed a cervical spine injury. He underwent an operation to fuse his vertebrae together. His arms improved but the tingling in his legs didn't stop. He said he learned later that he had cracked vertebrae in his lower spine as well, which required another operation.
Canada's Invictus team is managed by Soldier On, a semi-autonomous CAF program. Soldier On helps ill and injured CAF members and veterans recover through sports, recreational and creative activities.
Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) also supports the Invictus program by providing funding to Soldier On, including $16 million to allow Canada to host the 2025 games in Whistler B.C. and fund the team's participation.
The Whistler games will include skeleton bobsled, alpine skiing and snowboarding.
Snow said his recovery has left him unable to navigate the stairs in his home, forcing him to move into a retirement home costing almost $5,000 a month.
He said he also suffers from problems with vision in his left eye that developed after hitting his head in the fall, but he had to stop vision therapy because he can't afford the cost.
Veterans say they were never fully briefed
"Since my injury, there is not one person that has picked up the phone from Soldier On, even though I've emailed them, I've called them. Not once ... have they reached out," he said.
Snow blames Soldier On and its officials who he says never fully explained to him that veterans needed to have health insurance to cover medical expenses for injuries incurred while competing.
"It was just a passing point. We were never taken aside to explain and most people that were paying attention to it just assumed that their credit card insurance or their CAA insurance would cover their health insurance," he said.
CBC News has spoken to other veterans on the 2023 team who share that view. They said they never got a briefing on the insurance they needed and assumed regular travel insurance would suffice.
Insurance is mentioned just once in the 30-plus pages of the Solder On document explaining the terms and conditions for participating in the Invictus Games. The document says veterans should "consult with their personal insurance organization to confirm they are individually insured and have applicable health coverage" and that "costs for any additional health insurance purchased will not be reimbursed."
The one line in the document dedicated to serving CAF members tells them simply "to have their Blue Cross card in their possession." The document for the 2025 games contains identical language.
Canada sent 31 athletes to Germany in 2023 — 12 serving CAF members and 19 veterans. In 2025, Team Canada will consist of 22 serving CAF members and 34 veterans.
The Invictus Foundation says the responsibility for ensuring competitors have sufficient insurance for travel, equipment and health, both at home and abroad, lies with the participating countries. That requirement, it says, is laid out verbally and in the Participating Nations' Guide.
The Department of National Defence (DND) told CBC News in a media statement that participation in the Invictus Games is "a voluntary activity for both currently serving and retired" CAF members.
National Defence said team members are are "encouraged" to get insurance "to ensure they are fully protected during and after the event."
"We recognize that this may differ from practices in other countries," the statement said.
DND said it is working with Soldier On and its "partners and health insurance providers to determine what additional coverage could be implemented to ensure that there are no gaps for the participants after the event."
The statement did not say how long that process will take, or if that additional coverage will be in place by the time Canada hosts the 2025 games in February.
DND also did not say if that additional coverage would cover medical expenses incurred by veterans in past Invictus Games, or commit to covering Snow's medical bills.
VAC said in a media statement that it is working with "partners and Soldier On to ensure that the well-being of Team Canada participants remains a priority and to resolve this issue ahead of the 2025 Games."
'An inexcusable mess,' says veterans advocate
Retired captain Sean Bruyea, a former Air Force intelligence officer, was medically retired and has since become a leading advocate for the rights of injured veterans. He described the plight of uninsured Invictus athletes as "an inexcusable mess."
"To hear that the biggest PR tool they have to show that they care about veterans, the Invictus Games, that they are not providing insurance to veterans is really just a most heinous icing on a cake for veterans feeling betrayed, when really they just want to belong again to the country for which they sacrificed," Bruyea told CBC News.
Snow said he has turned down offers from friends and fellow veterans to raise money to pay for his treatment and care. He said he wants the federal government to ensure all veterans participating in the games have the same health coverage as serving members.
Snow said the games themselves were a great experience and he was honoured to meet Prince Harry and represent Canada, but Soldier On's management of Team Canada has left him feeling betrayed.
From the lobby of the retirement home in Kingston, Ontario, Snow can see a massive roadside billboard outside the window advertising the 2025 Invictus Games.
"It was just fed to us that like — we're a team, we're a team, we're here for you forever," he said. "And people like me, soldiers that are out, specifically veterans, that's what I've wanted for seven years."
He said he feels abandoned now. "It tore, like, a piece of my heart ..."
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