WASHINGTON, Dec. 20 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), former Chair and current member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, and Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.), alongside their colleagues Sens. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Angus King (I-Maine), and Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), on Wednesday sent a letter to Department of the Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough urging they address some important structural issues within the VA’s travel reimbursement program that is affecting the ability of veterans – especially low-income veterans and veterans in remote rural communities – to manage their VA Beneficiary Travel Pay reimbursements.
Under current federal law, most low-income veterans and veterans with a service-connected disability are entitled to reimbursements for travel to and from their VA medical appointments. For many veterans, especially low-income veterans in rural communities who have to travel long distances to access their VA health care, these reimbursements are essential. However, the current system for VA Beneficiary Travel Pay reimbursements has left too many veterans, who are entitled to travel reimbursement, waiting months with hundreds of dollars in unpaid claims at any one time – putting their financial stability at risk.
“Veterans who rely on this and other VA programs should have an easy way to ensure that they are receiving the benefits they are owed,” wrote the senators. “Our veterans deserve much better, especially when they are simply trying to receive the benefits they have earned.”
Many veterans across the country have complex health conditions and require numerous medical appointments each month. Under the current system, veterans who receive travel reimbursements via direct deposit are unable to reconcile travel claim payments with their bank statements. When veterans receive multiple reimbursements on varying timelines, it is exceptionally difficult to determine the status of each individual claim, leaving many veterans with outstanding claims they are unable to account for.
“The VA must provide the means for veterans to reconcile their travel claim benefits with their travel payments on their bank statements,” said Jeffery Hasslet, a Vermont veteran who has experienced this issue. “The VA’s medical care is outstanding, however the VA’s travel claim system has been broken for years, at both the national and local levels, and needs to be fixed as soon as possible!”
In the letter, the senators asked Yellen and McDonough to respond to the following questions by January 15, 2024: How can veterans currently track individual beneficiary travel reimbursements after they have filed the initial claim; which agency bears responsibility for determining what information is included in the Prearranged Payment and Deposit (PPD) or PPD+; and are VA and Treasury considering implementing a numerical identification system that veterans can use to track their individual claims and associated payments?
To read the full letter, click here.
