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VA Responds to Wicker, Ends Travel Reimbursement Inequity
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
WASHINGTON – In response to a request from Sen. Roger Wicker, the Department of Veterans Affairs has corrected an error that had resulted in significant reimbursement dollars being withheld from veterans in Mississippi.
The issue was recently brought to Wicker’s attention by a number of Mississippi veterans who had been seen at the VA facility in Columbus and referred to the G.V. (Sonny) Montgomery VA hospital in Jackson for further treatment. Despite a specific referral to Jackson and an approximate distance of 191 miles from Columbus to that facility, these veterans were being reimbursed for travel of only 60 miles, which is the approximate distance from Columbus to the VA facility in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The VA office in Jackson made this reimbursement determination based on existing regulations that stated Tuscaloosa was “the nearest VA that could have provided the service.”
In a letter written last month to VA Secretary Eric Shinseki, Wicker said this was an inequity that needed to be fixed promptly. “The end result is that my constituents are driving three times the distance and are only reimbursed for one-third of the trip,” wrote Wicker, an Air Force veteran and member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. The senator’s letter went on to ask, “If appropriate care can be provided at the Tuscaloosa, Alabama facility, why are these patients referred to a facility 191 miles away? If the Jackson VA medical center is the appropriate venue for further treatment, why are the patients not reimbursed for that trip?”
In a response sent last week, Secretary Shinseki stated the error had been immediately fixed, and that VA staff had been directed to provide affected veterans with any additional reimbursement for which they may be eligible. Wicker noted that the VA should be reaching out to those veterans who are due additional reimbursement. However, he urged veterans who believe they are owed additional funds and haven’t been contacted by the VA to call his office.
“I appreciate Secretary Shinseki’s help in fixing this inequity,” Wicker said. “Veterans who feel they are owed additional reimbursement and have not heard from the VA should contact my office so that my staff and I can assist in securing any reimbursement due.”
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