The Department of Veterans Affairs’ Beneficiary Travel program reimburses eligible veterans and caregivers for the cost of getting to and from approved VA health care appointments. It’s a genuinely simple benefit once you understand the pieces, but the eligibility rules, the deductible structure and the filing deadline all trip people up, and many veterans who qualify simply never file a claim.
Who Qualifies
You qualify for Beneficiary Travel reimbursement if you meet at least one of several conditions:
- A service-connected disability rating of 30% or higher
- Travel to treat a service-connected condition regardless of your overall rating
- Receipt of a VA pension, including Survivors Pension
- Travel to a VA compensation and pension exam
- A gross household income at or below VA’s means-test threshold
The provision for the compensation and pension (C&P) exam matters more than it sounds like it should. A veteran with a 0% rating, or no rating decision yet at all, still qualifies for mileage reimbursement for travel to a C&P exam, according to VA.gov. Certain other veterans are also automatically exempt from the standard deductible, including Purple Heart recipients, former prisoners of war, and veterans with a qualifying vision impairment.
Related: VA Drug for Treatment-Resistant Depression Requires Up to 50 Visits a Year
Certain caregivers, donors and support people can also qualify for reimbursement, according to VA.gov, including:
- A traveling attendant who’s medically required to support a veteran’s care
- A family caregiver enrolled in VA’s Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers traveling for required training
- A transplant donor
A veteran generally needs to already be eligible for beneficiary travel before an accompanying caregiver can qualify.
The Money: Rate, Deductible, Monthly Cap
Reimbursement Rate
VA’s mileage reimbursement rate is 41.5 cents per mile as of this writing.
Deductible
A deductible applies to most claims:
- $3 for a one-way trip
- $6 for a round trip
The deductible is capped at $18 per calendar month. Once you’ve paid $18 in deductibles within a single month, VA pays the full cost of any additional eligible travel for the rest of that month with no further deduction.
Beyond mileage, the program can also cover approved meals and lodging when preauthorized, as well as special-mode transportation — meaning an ambulance, wheelchair van, taxi or public transit — when that mode of transport is medically required and approved in advance.
How to File
The fastest way to file is online through the Beneficiary Travel Self Service System, known as BTSSS, accessible through AccessVA or directly at VA.gov using a Login.gov or ID.me account, according to VA.gov. First-time users should confirm that their direct deposit information is current before submitting a claim, since electronic payment is both faster and the preferred method that VA recommends.
Veterans who prefer not to file online can submit a paper claim using VA Form 10-3542, available at the Travel Pay office or check-in kiosk at most VA medical facilities, according to guidance on VA.gov’s beneficiary travel pages. Same-day filing at the facility, right after an appointment, may be the simplest option for veterans who don’t want to deal with the online system.
Claims must be submitted online or in person or postmarked within 30 calendar days of the completed appointment, in accordance with federal law, according to Benjamin Williams, director of the Veterans Transportation Program at VA. Veterans who believe a claim was incorrectly denied on timeliness or any other grounds can pursue the appellate rights outlined in the denial notice.
File Even If You’re Not Sure If You Qualify
Given how many eligibility categories exist, and how easy it is to qualify under a provision such as the C&P exam exception without realizing it, checking eligibility directly rather than assuming you don’t qualify is the safer approach. VA’s Beneficiary Travel eligibility requirements are laid out in full at va.gov/health-care/file-travel-pay-reimbursement.
Once a claim is filed, turnaround time is generally fast: The national average time to payment is 17 days, dropping to five days for veterans who submit electronically, according to Williams. Actual processing times can vary by facility depending on local workload, staffing and submission method.
Veterans with questions about a specific claim or their eligibility can contact the Beneficiary Travel office at their local VA medical facility, or call the national Beneficiary Travel contact line at 855-574-7292.
Stay on Top of Your Veteran Benefits
Military benefits are always changing. Keep up with everything from pay to health care by subscribing to Military.com, and get access to up-to-date pay charts and more with all the latest benefits delivered straight to your inbox.
Read the full article here