From a member: So today I went to the VA in Hampton Virginia so Glenn could attend a class he is in. While there I had a meeting with the supervisor of the benefits travel department. It had come to my attention last week that I had not been receiving my travel reimbursements for Glenns doctor’s appointments like I am legally supposed to. Anyway, last Friday I brought it to their attention again that there was an error. I had previously had the SAME conversation with them in October of 201, at the end of that engagement they ended up paying me a lump sum because it was their error. But I digress... On Friday of last week we were unable to resolve the issue on nonpayment and incorrect payments being made so I agreed to return today (Monday) to continue the conversation. So this weekend I prepared a list of ALL the appointments and ALL the payments that we have had and received since we moved from Oregon to Virginia. So today I presented this document to the Benefits Travel Supervisor and once AGAIN explained HOW her people SHOULD be paying VA Caregivers. During the course of our conversation she called and spoke with several people in her department and they all had the same story If the VA caregiver doesnt have an appointment listed in the system no payment for travel can be made. Keep in mind that the travel forms I was filing were not for my appointment (I am NOT a veteran) they were for my husband. So their statements were not only incorrect they made no sense. The travel supervisor decided that she would call a travel benefits lead in Washington D.C. at VA headquarters and see what he had to say about how Caregivers are to be paid. Interestingly enough he said EXACTLY what I had been saying the whole time... both now and back in October. There are a couple of key things Caregivers need to understand when filing their forms. These are important for lots of reasons, to many to list. However please keep in mind that while it is a headache to police this it is vital for the funding to keep being awarded to the VA Caregivers program that benefits us all, since the whole program is grant funded on a 5 year rotation. If the payments are made under the veterans social security number then the money is disbursed from the WRONG account which impacts how the grant is funded in future years. So you can see how this could become an issue if all the caregivers across the nation are being paid incorrectly. 1. YOU ARE ENTITLED BY LAW to receive reimbursement for travel with your eligible veteran TO and FROM appointments. 2. YOU ARE ENTITLED BY LAW to receive reimbursement for travel TO and FROM any training that has to do with the care of your eligible veteran whether or not he is with you. * Note: In the instance that the veteran is not with you and you are doing something that is in the interest of his care, the caregiver coordinator or the medical staff MUST note your VA account in their system or you WILL NOT get reimbursed. 4. YOU ARE NOT liable for the $3 each way deductible. Example of a Veterans claim: Glenn has an appointment in Hampton. If Glenn filed the travel claim he would be reimbursed for 35.41 miles x 2 for the round trip = 70.82 miles x $0.415 (current rate is 41.5 cents per mile) = $29.39 - $6 deductible ($3 each way) = $23.39 reimbursement. * A note about the deductible... the VA can only deduct up to $18.00 total in a month. After the $18.00 cap is met the payment would be the same as the caregiver’s scenario. Example of a Caregiver claim: Glenn has an appointment in Hampton, Dawna (his caregiver drives him to the appointment) files the travel claim. Dawna would be reimbursed 35.41 miles x 2 for the round trip = 70.82 miles x $0.415 (current rate is 41.5 cents per mile) = $29.39 reimbursement. 3. YOU ARE ENTITLED BY LAW for reimbursement for hotels, tolls, meals etc... when traveling with your eligible veteran. However this area gets more complicated and usually involves a patient care coordinator to help facilitate this as you need advance approval for these expense. 4. The VA has a dusk to dawn rule for travel to and from appointments that allows you to utilize hotel and meal benefits. BUT you must have PRE APPROVAL. 5. KEEP ALL YOUR RECIEPTS for everything except fuel that you intend to claim for reimbursement. If you dont have receipts, you will not get paid. ***If they start giving you the run around, say this I understand that is how you have been told to do it, can I please see the regulation on ...... that states how this is to be paid. If they refuse ask for their supervisor... and by the way google is a great resource. The other thing that we all need to understand is that most of these people DO NOT have the training that they need to be proficient. They either dont have the time or they havent made the time to educate themselves because let’s face it, who wants to take work home? What I am finding is a systemic break down in the education across the VA nationally. For example when we had our caregiver training with the Easter Seals back in November it took 3-4 weeks for everyone to figure out HOW we as caregivers were supposed to file for travel expenses and HOW they were supposed to pay us! If you have any questions, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE contact me. Don’t let the VA bully you into doing the wrong thing just because it is “the way they have always done it”. If you do it not only impacts you financially, but the rest of us as well. Please stay tuned for a post with an example of HOW to fill out a travel claim. Thank you for your continued support. Remember, our veterans served to give us the freedom we have today. We as a population, whether we agree with the military decisions made by the government or not, owe it to them to make their transition back to civilian life as uncomplicated as possible. The ONLY way this will happen is if we stand up to the bullies and demand that which is ours.
Posted on: Tue, 27 Jan 2015 04:25:11 +0000
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