U.S. Senator Susan Collins recently announced that the Department of Veterans Affairs has decided to increase the mileage reimbursement for travel to VA facilities to over one million eligible veterans. The changes take effect February 1st.
Veterans will see reimbursement rates rise from 11 cents per mile to 28.5 cents per mile.
“This is welcome news for our veterans,” noted Senator Collins. “Many veterans in Maine have no choice but to drive long distances to receive the health care that they earned. With the rising cost of fuel, it has become increasingly difficult to afford to do so.”
While increasing the payment, VA, as mandated by law, also equally increased the deductible amounts applied to certain mileage reimbursements. The new deductibles are $7.77 for a one way trip, $15.54 for a round trip, with a maximum of $46.62 per calendar month. However, these deductibles can be waived if they cause a financial hardship to the veteran.