25 October 2022
Office of Veterans Affairs to Subsidize Travel for VA Medical Appointments
Eligible Veterans can access medical care at ANY VA medical facility in the United States or its territories. What makes the difference is who pays for the Veterans’ travel arrangements to that facility. Through the Code of Federal Regulations, Veterans are mandated to seek medical care at the VA medical facility closest to their residence IF the VA is expected to pay for travel to that facility. In the case of the Virgin Islands, there is an outpatient clinic on St. Thomas and one on St. Croix; however, the closest VA Medical Center is on the island of Puerto Rico.
“For a very long time, Veterans in the Virgin Islands have expressed an interest in being able to travel to the mainland to attend VA medical appointments. To address these concerns, the Office of Veterans Affairs will be subsidizing the plane ticket of any Veteran seeking to attend VA Medical appointments on the mainland. Veterans will be allowed subsidy for no more than 3 trips per fiscal year (October 1 – 30 September) at a rate of up to $250 per trip. We asked that Veterans wishing to take advantage of this benefit first contact the V.I. Office of Veterans Affairs for pre-approval. Any request made after travel is not guaranteed to be approved”, said Director Farrell.
For further clarification, non service-connected Veterans traveling within our immediate region (St. Croix, St. Thomas, St. John, and Puerto Rico) for VA medical appointments are reimbursed up to 100% of their plane ticket.
If there are any questions, please feel free to call our office at (340) 774-8387 or (340) 773-8387.
Please be advised that veterans can continue to get up-to-date information by visiting the Office of Veterans Affairs website at www.veterans.vi.gov, calling the office @ (340) 774/ 773 – 8387, or by texting the word VIVets (no spaces) to 888-652-8387.
