The short answer
Yes, if you're eligible for VA travel pay and VA approved the Community Care visit. VA pays 41.5 cents a mile, minus a $3 one-way deductible capped at $18 a month, measured to the closest facility that could provide the care. File within 30 days, with proof you attended.
Can I get travel pay for Community Care?
Yes, if two things are true:
- You're eligible for VA travel pay.
- The trip was for VA care or VA-approved non-VA care, which includes authorized Community Care.
The rules are in 38 CFR Part 70. VA explains them on its travel pay page.
Who's eligible for travel pay?
At least one of these has to apply:
- you have a VA disability rating of 30% or more;
- you're traveling for care for a service-connected condition, whatever your rating;
- you get a VA pension;
- your income is below the maximum annual VA pension rate;
- you can't afford to travel, under VA's guidelines; or
- you're traveling for a VA claim exam, to get a service dog, or for VA-approved transplant care.
Certain caregivers and medically needed attendants can also be reimbursed.
How much does VA pay?
From VA's mileage rate page:
- Mileage: 41.5 cents per mile.
- Deductible: $3 one way or $6 round trip, up to $18 a month. After you've paid $18 in a month, VA pays the full amount for the rest of that month.
- Deductible waived if you get a VA pension, are going to a VA claim exam, or your income is below certain VA limits.
- Parking and tolls are reimbursed without preapproval.
Example: your round trip is 50 miles. That's $20.75 in mileage. If you haven't hit the monthly cap, VA subtracts the $6 deductible and pays $14.75.
How does VA count the miles for Community Care?
VA measures the route from your home to the closest VA or authorized non-VA facility that can provide the care you need. If you choose a community provider farther away than that, VA pays only up to the closer distance.
Scheduled appointments get round-trip mileage. Unscheduled visits, like urgent care, get one way only.
How do I file?
File within 30 days of the appointment. VA says late claims are usually denied, and each appointment needs its own claim.
- Online on VA.gov, or through the Beneficiary Travel Self-Service System (BTSSS).
- By mail or in person with VA Form 10-3542 and your receipts, sent to the VA facility that manages your care. For mail, the postmark date counts.
For Community Care, VA's own records may not show you went. Ask the community provider for proof of attendance, like a letter on their letterhead with the appointment date. Keep it with your claim.
What about meals, lodging, or special transportation?
- Meals and lodging: Need approval before you travel. VA may pay actual costs up to 50% of the local federal employee rate, with receipts. Contact your facility's travel office.
- Bus, taxi, rideshare, train, or plane: Need approval before you travel.
- Special mode transportation, like an ambulance or wheelchair van: A VA provider has to decide it's medically required, and it has to be approved in advance, except in an emergency.
- Free transportation programs, like VA's Veterans Transportation Program: No reimbursement, since you had no cost.
What if my claim is denied?
Ask the travel office why. Travel pay decisions are benefit decisions, so you can use VA's decision review options. They're not handled through clinical appeals.
What if travel itself is the problem?
If getting to VA is a real burden, that can help you qualify for Community Care closer to home. See Travel Burden and Community Care.