Rides to VA Appointments in Massachusetts

The VA reimburses mileage for travel to a VA appointment if you qualify, but it will not pay for a private wheelchair van unless a VA provider decided you need one and the VA approved the trip in advance. VA's published rate is 41.5 cents a mile, minus a deductible of $3 one way or $6 round trip. For most veterans that means you arrange and pay for the ride, then claim part of it back.

A wheelchair stays in the chair for the whole ride and is secured in the van. No transfer into a car seat.

Does the VA pay for my ride to a VA appointment?

Only if you meet one of VA's travel pay conditions, and only for care at a VA facility or VA approved care in the community. VA lists these qualifiers:

• A VA disability rating of 30 percent or higher
• Travel for treatment of a service connected condition, at any rating
• You receive a VA pension
• Your income is below the maximum annual VA pension rate
• You cannot afford the travel, as VA defines that in its guidelines
• Travel for a scheduled compensation and pension exam, to get a service dog, or for VA approved transplant care

Caregivers, medically required attendants and transplant donors fall under separate rules. If none of these fit you, the ride is yours to arrange.

How much does the VA pay, and how do I file the claim?

VA's page lists 41.5 cents a mile for approved health related travel, with a deductible of $3 one way or $6 round trip per appointment, capped at $18 in a month. Once you have absorbed $18 of deductibles inside one month, the rest of that month is paid in full. The deductible can be waived, and VA waives it automatically if its records show you qualify, for example if you receive a pension or your income is under the relevant limit. You can also request a waiver in person or in writing.

You file through VA's Beneficiary Travel Self Service System online, or on paper using VA Form 10 3542, signed and dated, with receipts, mailed or brought to the facility where you were seen. If you mail it, the postmark is the submission date. File within 30 days. VA says later claims are usually denied, and every appointment needs its own claim. Scheduled appointments get round trip mileage; VA may pay only the return leg for an unscheduled visit.

Confirm the current rate and your own eligibility with the travel office at your campus before you count on a number. VA updates both.

Will the VA pay for a wheelchair van or an ambulance?

Sometimes, and only with paperwork done first. VA calls this special mode transportation, and it requires that a VA provider decided your condition needs a specially equipped vehicle and that VA approved the travel in advance. True emergencies are handled differently, and VA asks you to contact it within 72 hours. If nobody at the VA has approved special mode transportation for you, a wheelchair van is a private purchase.

Which VA campus am I actually going to?

Read the campus name on your appointment letter, because the Boston system runs three and they do not do the same work:

• West Roxbury VA Medical Center, 1400 VFW Parkway. The emergency department for VA Boston is here and only here, open 24 hours.
• Brockton VA Medical Center, 940 Belmont Street. Urgent care here is open 24 hours.
• Jamaica Plain VA Medical Center, 150 South Huntington Avenue. Urgent care here runs Monday to Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., so a late afternoon problem sends you to West Roxbury or Brockton instead.

VA Boston also runs outpatient clinics in Framingham, Lowell, Plymouth and Quincy. North of Boston, VA Bedford Healthcare System is at 200 Springs Road in Bedford. In the western part of the state, the main campus is at 421 North Main Street in Leeds, with a clinic at 25 Bond Street in Springfield. Veterans are sent across campuses more than they expect, so a ride booked for the wrong one is a missed appointment.

What does a private ride to a VA appointment cost?

Wheelchair accessible transportation is $115 each way and $230 round trip within five miles, then $2 a mile beyond that. A trip of 15 miles each way is $115 plus $2 for each of the 10 miles past the first five, so $135 each way. We publish the rate so you can do that arithmetic before you call.

If the problem is the front steps rather than the distance, stair assistance is $200 a visit and brings two trained staff and an electric stair chair. If you want someone with you through a long appointment and afterward at home, home health aide care is $45 an hour, one to eight hours a day, with no minimum contract and no assessment fee.

Should I try a free ride first?

Yes, and we would rather you did. Start with the travel office at your own campus and ask what rides it can arrange or reimburse. Massachusetts cities and towns have a Veterans Service Officer, and that office exists partly to solve problems like this one. Your Council on Aging may run a van. If you also have MassHealth, ask about the PT1 form for non emergency rides to covered care. More options here: free rides to medical appointments in Massachusetts.

If you can walk to a car and get in and out on your own, you do not need a wheelchair van and should not pay for one. Where a paid ride earns its money is a power chair that cannot fold, a passenger who cannot transfer, a 6 a.m. arrival time, or a discharge hour nobody can predict.

Can someone stay with me during the appointment?

Yes. An aide can ride with you, stay through the visit, carry the paperwork out and get you settled at home. Our aides are trained, background checked and insured, and they are not nurses. They do not administer medication, including insulin, do not change dressings and do not make clinical judgments. An aide can be present while you manage your own medication, help if something goes wrong and call for help.

What if I am paying for care at home too?

Ask about Aid and Attendance before you spend down savings. It is a VA pension benefit that can help cover help at home, and the amounts and rules are set out here: VA Aid and Attendance for home care in Massachusetts. For how ride pricing works generally, see how much wheelchair transportation costs in Massachusetts.

Care Remedy is not affiliated with the Department of Veterans Affairs or with any VA medical center. Travel pay rules, rates and eligibility are VA's to decide and they change, so confirm your own situation with your VA travel office.

We serve Greater Boston, the South Shore and western Massachusetts from offices in Woburn, Brockton and Springfield. Call 781 957 8076 or email info@careremedyinc.com to book a ride to a VA appointment.