Medical Mileage

[frosty69]

I was just wondering if the medical mileage that Veterans get are the same at every VA, I always thought it was. I have always got .11, but then they subtract the $6.50 of the top, so I wind up with $.27, so don't even monkey around with it, unless I have to go to another VA futher away. The reason I ask, is because there was a Veteran from California, in Fargo, a couple of weeks back, claiming he gets $.27 cents a mile out there, and he only got $.09 in Fargo, boy was he mad, they called security on him, o get him settled down. I know you suppose to get more for C&P exams, and usually do, but I have been screwed out of that to, by having C&P on Saturdays, then going in a couple of weeks later when I had a Doctor appointment to try and get the money, but they refused.

[Kirk]

I drive a fairly fuel efficient car at 32-36 mpg depending on speed ect. My drive for dialysis is 67 miles. At my current fuel cost I lose about $5 each trip until the fifth trip of the month. This money doesnt even begin to cover the cost of maintainence, depreciation or wear and tear that this extra travel costs. But still I should get around to filing now that I'm at 100%.

I'm not really certain that they will even pay since the dialysis is done at a non-VA facility and paid for by medicare. Not really sure I want to open the can of worms of getting VA to pay for dialysis as they may manage to screw it up and cause me not to get service long enough to die (about a week), or decide they want me to drive to their unit 250 miles away. Can anyone else picture them stopping my treatment until they have done test to determine if I need diaylsis or not and then sending my widow authority to start it a year or two after I've died?

I really live in fear of having the VA screw me over and killing me somehow. It actually causes me stress even thinking about filing for milage.

[Philip Rogers]

then I guess the VA lied to me, when i was at 50%, I was told i wasn't eligible, you had to be at 100% to get travel pay, and then only for service-connected disabilities. there seems to be no place on a VA site that explains this, or at least i haven't been able to find it. I was hoping someone knew the answer if they still deduct the 5.50 or 6.50 of the top, as it gets me to upset talking to the travel pay person, he is a jerk-off, who seems to think it is money he is dispening, and don't want to waste my time for $.27.

They deduct $3 per, one way trip, the way the crow flys. So on a round trip it is $6, unless they've now added a fuel surcharge. They do this the first 3 visits in the month and after that the vet gets the full rate. That money goes into a slush fund that the RO director can use for whatever he wants.

[Philip Rogers]

ANOTHER QUESTION I forgot to ask, the mileage is just for your service-connected disabilities, isn't it, or do they cover all, if you 100%, or doesn't that make any difference, I know when I had my back surgery down in Iowa, I got .11 a mile for 1100 miles, and not service-connected for back yet, still fighting a claim from 1971.

Get a copy of all your appointments that you attended. Then request an audit or list of all payments made to you by travel section. Then file a claim for all dates you didn't receive payment for. They don't like you to do it but they will pay.

On this statement, how far can you go back, as I haven't collected for travel pay in 10 years, and do they deduct the 5.50 or 6.50 of the top, for each visit, like they used too.

I usually have 3-4 appointments a month including blood work, and also try to schedule as many as I can on one day, as I never drive by myself anymore, even though I have a new 4-door pickup, as I have the wife with, if I feel like driving, but the wife drives most of the time. with my body the way it is, i can't even get into a car decent, it feels like I am sitting on the ground, at 6'4", I like the leg room in my Ford pickup, plus I get 21 MPH gallon, not bad for a V-8, and gas is down to $2.40, as the wife filled up in town today. I wish gas was the same price when I first started driving in 1961, 5 gallons for a dollar.

I'd request a printout for the whole 10 yrs and then file a claim. And yes they deduct the $6 per round trip, up to 3 times a month. I understand VA employees now are getting around 43 cents a mile for VA travel.

[frosty69]

Philip Rogers

I talked to travel when i was in the VA the other day, they have a new guy, decent enough guy, everything you said is true, except I can't go back the 10 years, he told me you can go back one month, 30 days, for backpay on travel, so out all them years, there are 2 ways they figure mileage, zip codes and so called actual distance, in my case their actual distance is off by 15 miles, so figure they must go by how the crow flies, not where the roads are, after the 6.00 deductable, I would get $.29 by zip code, and $.19 by their actual mileage, either way isn't worth the aggravation.

[Philip Rogers]

Philip Rogers

I talked to travel when i was in the VA the other day, they have a new guy, decent enough guy, everything you said is true, except I can't go back the 10 years, he told me you can go back one month, 30 days, for backpay on travel, so out all them years, there are 2 ways they figure mileage, zip codes and so called actual distance, in my case their actual distance is off by 15 miles, so figure they must go by how the crow flies, not where the roads are, after the 6.00 deductable, I would get $.29 by zip code, and $.19 by their actual mileage, either way isn't worth the aggravation.

Frosty69 - don't you know, by now, that everything VA employees tell you is a lie! Request the print out and then file the claim. There's a saying: "If it can't be read it wasn't said!" The worse thing that happens is that they deny the claim but as you know, if you appeal you can win. VA rules state that employees can't be held responsible for what they say. He may be a nice guy but the 30 day thing is an outright"lie." jmho