Diamondrichlb

The rules were different for Hawaii and Alaska. We have Tripler Army Medical Center which is on Oahu and about 8 miles from where I live. When I first called to be setup for Veterans medical coverage the person on the phone encouraged me to chose the Veterans Choice Program as it bypassed the normal VA approval system. Tis state is several islands so driving to the Veterans facility is not going to happen. That fact and that our congressional delegation at the time VCP was created was very powerful may have made the difference. Hard to know how congress works. Even now, as I am grandfathered in under the old Veterans Choice Program. Having said the above and considering what I copied below, my situation occurred before the change over to Community Care. I never had to talk to VA about an appointment. I never had to ask VA for permission for care. I never knew I was required to ask for permission to travel as I never talked to anyone at the VA about medical care. Everything was authorized thru TriWest. TriWest was acting as VA's representative. VA paid the bills without question. Agent relationship established in my opinion. As that agent TriWest authorized my travel. I understand the old Choice program is closed out. However, there are connections between the old and new. The following is current and from the VA's website and you would think we have no VA hospital: "In this scenario, a Veteran lives in a U.S. state or territory that does not have a full-service VA medical facility. Specifically, this applies to Veterans living in:. U.S. States Alaska Hawaii New Hampshire U.S. Territories Guam American Samoa Northern Mariana Islands U.S. Virgin Islands For instance, if you are a Veteran living in Guam, you would be eligible for community care because you reside in a state or territory without a full-service VA medical facility. In this scenario, a Veteran lives in a U.S. state or territory that does not have a full-service VA medical facility. Specifically, this applies to Veterans living in:. U.S. States Alaska Hawaii New Hampshire U.S. Territories Guam American Samoa Northern Mariana Islands U.S. Virgin Islands For instance, if you are a Veteran living in Guam, you would be eligible for community care because you reside in a state or territory without a full-service VA medical facility."

Thank you. What you describe is not what happens with me or did happen before the reshuffle to Community Care this year. Due to the fact I - and other veterans - live in Hawaii I could chose the Veterans Choice Plan. Once I choose that plan, I did not have to contact the VA at all. I could see any doctor anywhere just by calling TriWest. I could call TriWest to tell them I already had an appointment set up and they would send authorization - as long as the provider accepted VA insurance - or I could ask TriWest to setup the appointment at such and such provider. Now, with the change to Community Care, I have to call VA to request treatment, they authorize TriWest and TriWest does what they did before the change this year. So, last year when diagnosed with prostate cancer by a local provider I chose to go to MD Anderson Cancer Clinic in Houston for treatment. They accept VA insurance and the surgeon there is one of the best. When facing the chance of wearing a diaper for the rest of my life or not, I thought going to one of the best was the thing to do. And it has paid off. You mention the VHA Handbook 1602(b)50VHA Handbook 1602(b)50 in another response. That is what the local VA office brought up to dispute my travel reimbursement request. The Handbook states I need to obtain permission before traveling. Since at the time in question, I did not have to ask VA for permission for treatment and was using the Veterans Choice Plan thru TriWest, I maintain, the authorization from TriWest is all the permission I needed to travel. Otherwise, how do I receive treatment? TriWest was acting as the VA's agent at the time hence contacting VA was not necessary. The VA travel office is not in agreement. As an odd side note, they did pay me per diem (although I think incorrectly) which they say they are going to demand I return, but have not made the demand yet. So, somebody somewhere thought I was entitled. Hmmmm...... Any other thoughts you or anyone else might have will be greatly appreciated.

Oh, absolutely. I will keep you updated as I move along this path. Thank you for all the help and suggestions.

No point really. When I talked to my roommate he mentioned I could look on my 759 to make sure of the date of the incident. I don't think I really need to do that as I have the 600 form with the date.

Great! I just sent an email to the contact I have at Awards Branch to see if my roommate's email address will work to send the document or if he must use USPS. On another note, my 759 forms do not show any of my flying in Vietnam/Thailand. The total number of hours is about right, but no individual dates until I returned stateside. My roommate says his 759 shows his flights and he was in my unit. My hours when I attended Rotary Wing qualification course and subsequent flights are shown, but as mentioned that was stateside.

Yes, he saw my injuries.

I just heard from my roommate during the time this happened. He remembers the incident, the holes in the aircraft, and the injuries to my leg. He has offered to write a letter on my behalf. Surely, that will help.

Hmmmm......if I could get a unit roster from the other unit taking over the mission I might be able to recognize the name. There could not have been that many 1st Lt. pilots in the unit. Most of the pilots were CW-2 or Captains. Can I request the unit records from a unit I was not a member of? And can I ask for just certain parts of the Unit records like the roster?

Thank you. I have provided all documentation needed. VA has acknowledged I traveled and was treated. Calculating mileage and per diem is not an issue. Simple math. The issue is this. The VA here says in order for me to be reimbursed for travel I had to obtain approval from the VA (not TriWest) in advance - before I traveled. The VA here says TriWest authorization for treatment at an outside clinic/hospital/doctor does not constitute authorization for travel. If it is not authorization for travel it is not authorization for reimbursement for travel. I am looking for input from people like you - not for how to do the process, thank you - but to confirm you have been reimbursed by the VA for travel WITHOUT pre-authorization from the VA for that travel. Thus showing that authorization from TriWest is actually authorization for travel and reimbursement for travel from the VA. Keep in mind I live in Hawaii. Travel can be expensive when authorized to go to the mainland. They do not want to pay. I'm going to appeal to a higher power, but would like to know I'm barking up the right tree. Thanks for your help. Please let me know if I need to restate the issue.

Hi GBArmy, Yes, I am under no false hope that the Awards Branch is just going to hand me my Purple Heart after this current step. While the letter and clinic documents are genuine and real, it would be too easy if they took that as the total package. Life is hardly ever like that. My platoon leader at the time has died. He was the one who took me to the clinic. I can get a buddy letter from my roommate at the time. It would be great to find the 1st Lt who was in the right seat, but I have no idea how to go about that. I don't know his name and he was from another unit. There were only 4 of us Army pilots in the Unit at any one time as we were TDY to an Air Force base. My records don't show the TDY orders. Someone told me the TDY orders would be in the Company records. If true, my TDY orders as well as the 1st Lt. TDY orders from the other unit would be in his Unit records. Is it possible to obtain Company records? There were holes in both wings and the cockpit and damage to the equipment in the cockpit that was hit. Do you know of any way to get maintenance records for the aircraft from that long ago? That could at least show it happened. Any suggestions from anyone who has gone thru this process will be greatly appreciated.

Good morning, I'm not asking about the process nor the paperwork. I know the form. The process is not the problem. There is no question if I was treated. There is no need for anything from my doctor. The question that needs answered is whether an authorization from TriWest for treatment is an authorization to travel to the treatment and have the VA reimburse the veteran for the travel. Or, does the Veteran need additional authorization from the VA for travel to a TriWest authorized appointment. The VA here says I needed to go to them before travel and get their approval. Because I did not they do not want to reimburse. I'm trying to find other veterans who have traveled to a TriWest authorized appointment without talking to the VA about travel and been reimbursed for travel by the VA. It looked like you had done this from what you had written. You offered to ask the travel clerk about this. I'm asking if you did ask and what the VA travel clerk said. Do you understand what I'm asking? Please let me know if you don't understand and I will restate the question/issue.

I have not received a reply from the email sent from those old posts. Have not heard from my request for info on the Mohawk site. I talked to the Army Awards Branch. They told me to email the request for award and supporting documents to them. I did. They were kind enough to email back and say I needed to USPS the docs as gmail and yahoo email address attachments are stripped from any emails they receive due to cyber issues. My email address is a gmail address. So, I snail mailed them. Ok, a fast snail using Priority Mail. Let's see what they have to say. Thanks for all the help. Aloha

I have conflicting replies from TriWest whether their authorization for treatment constitutes approval for travel and reimbursement for the cost of travel. Can you tell me what the travel pay clerk said? Aloha

It's great that your daughter has been able to help so many. For those of us having never dealt with the military mumbo jumbo it's really helpful to have folks like you offer a path forward. I'll see if any of those emails work and if there is any helpful info on the other end. Thanks again.

Hey Buck, I hope your meeting with the travel pay clerk was fruitful. Can you tell me what, if anything, the clerk told you regarding TriWest authorization as it pertains to travel reimbursement?