VA increases mileage allowance for veterans

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Disabled or low-income veterans who must travel to Poplar Bluff, Mo., or Marion, Ill., for health care will find the trip a little easier following an announcement that mileage reimbursements have been increased for the first time since the 1970s.

The increase, to 28.5 cents per mile from 11 cents per mile, was a long-neglected aspect of veterans benefits, said U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo. The need for the increase was just one of a list of issues raised by veterans during a four-day, 14-city series of town hall discussions held in June, McCaskill said.

Because of U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs rules, only veterans who travel more than 27 miles to reach a VA medical center receive reimbursement for their travel costs. McCaskill said the increase is long overdue.

"Veterans who didn't live in urban areas were really being penalized," McCaskill said. "That is a slap in the face."

McCaskill, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said she teamed up with U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., to push for the increase. "Some people may have been marginally aware of it, but nobody had been raising a ruckus about it," she said. "So many people in Washington have their hands out, and it was not given the prominence it should have had."

The $125 million nationwide cost of the increase was part of a $6 billion overall increase in funding for VA programs, McCaskill said.

The mileage reimbursement is available to veterans who are considered more than 30 percent disabled as a result of service-connected injuries or conditions. Veterans who are seeking treatment for a service-related condition, those on a VA pension or with an income below the maximum VA pension allowances are also eligible.

The 27-mile rule is applied as a deductible from the reimbursement. For example. the Marion VA Medical Center is 53 miles from downtown Cape Girardeau. For a round trip to Marion from that location, an eligible veteran would receive a reimbursement of about $15, up from about $5.50.

For veterans traveling to the John J. Pershing VA Medical Center in Poplar Bluff, a distance of 86 miles from downtown Cape Girardeau, the reimbursement would be about $33.50, up from about $13.

The new reimbursement rate took effect Feb. 1. There has been little publicity about the increase, so many veterans have been surprised when they go to the cashier for their money, said Pat Norris, program manager for health administration at the Marion hospital.

"It has been very positive," Norris said of the reaction. "The mileage hasn't changed for years and years and years, and it has been pretty set for a long time. It has been nothing but positive."

While many veterans don't fit into the disability or income categories for mileage reimbursements, the effect on those who do will be a great benefit, said David Hitt, commander of American Legion Post 158 in Jackson.

Hitt, who retired as a master sergeant in 1994 after a combined 26 years in the Army, Army reserve and National Guard, said he is more impressed with the $6 billion overall increase in funding for VA programs.

"That was definitely needed," Hitt said.

McCaskill said she and Tester have set a goal to increase the mileage reimbursement to the level paid to federal employees who use their own vehicles for government business. That amount is currently set at 48.5 cents per mile.

To make that change, she said, will require another $200 million annually.

"For the last seven years they have been chipping away at veterans benefits, going into their pockets for higher copays and more aggressive means testing," McCaskill said. "We are going to elevate veterans needs to the very top of our priorities."

rkeller@semissourian.com

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