Travel Reimbursement

Jim,

I have talked with a representative in travel three times about my travel pay. The VA now uses a different map- ("military Bing map") which uses the shortest distance between destinations. Totally ridiculous, circuitous routes, which nobody in their right mind would travel.

Some of these roads, which I can't even find on any map, must be unpaved, certainly not cleared of snow in the winter, rendering them impassable. The VA employee I spoke with agreed to snail mail a map of this mysterious, meandering, totally absurd route, which I intend to use, not only for my benefit, but also to benefit other veterans who are routinely being short-changed on their travel pay.

My VA travel pay from Chavies, Ky to London, Ky has always been 144 miles, for many, many years. Now suddenly, they have decided the distance is 124 miles! This is just another attempt to cheat veterans out of the benefits to which they are entitled.

This is action is unacceptable. I have contacted Hal Rodgers office http://halrogers.house.gov/ and I fully intend to make him aware of this disservice to veterans.

Reply:

As you can imagine, I get a lot of email about travel pay. I'm very familiar with the issue. I've studied it for years. In your message I see a reference to an email from a VA employee but I don't see the message you're speaking of. That means I don't know what VA replied to you. I only see your side of the story.

I found a link quite some time ago that answers a lot of questions http://www.va.gov/healthbenefits/resources/BeneTravelFAQ.asp#eligible

In there you'll learn that each VA facility has the legal authority to use the mapping service they choose;

How do we determine mileage for reimbursement purposes?

VA has not established use of a single reference. Mileage can be determined using authoritative guidance such as Rand McNally or MapQuest; or zip code to zip code as determined at the local VA health care facility, whichever gives the greater benefit to the veteran.

In other words, if they want to change to a map that they believe is more accurate, they have every legal right to do so. If the change cut 20 miles from your travel allowance, VA would probably say that is because the new map is more accurate and that you had been overpaid in the past. Now a more modern map service is available and you're finally being paid exactly what you should be paid. That is what the federal government is supposed to do...get the figures accurate and to be a good steward of the taxpayer's dollars.

If you disagree, you have the right to appeal and fight VA. When we make a decision to fight with VA about a rule, we really have to get our ducks in a row. For example, when you refer to a "military bing map" it would be helpful if we knew what that was.

I can't find any reference to a "military bing map". Bing maps are from the Microsoft corporation. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bing_Maps In my opinion, the Google mapping service provides the industry standard of such products but I don't know of anything bad about the Bing service.

When you say, "Some of these roads, which I can't even find on any map, must be unpaved, certainly not cleared of snow in the winter, rendering them impassable", you must be prepared to prove that. Which roads can't you find on what maps? Are there really unpaved sections? Where are they? How do you know which roads aren't cleared and become impassable in winter? Can you back that up with any evidence?

You see, when we make inflated statements that we can't support with evidence, that is always a mistake. That gives the VA the opportunity to come back with a response that shows their statutory authority to change maps and then they have the chance to describe just how accurate their maps and services are today.

I decided to do a quick check and compare the accuracy of the 3 more popular services that many of us use. I checked the distance between 2 points that are close to me and that I often travel so I can see my VA doctors. I checked out Google Maps https://maps.google.com/ Mapquest http://www.mapquest.com/ and Bing Maps http://www.bing.com/maps/

Interestingly, Mapquest was one of the first Internet mapping services available and it's fallen into the lower ranks of services in recent years. In my experience, Mapquest is often the service that a VA facility will use because it's the one they've always used. VA doesn't upgrade computerized services in a timely way.

I used the following addresses in each service: Walmart Supercenter, 160 Pooler Pkwy, Pooler, GA to VA Hospital, 109 Bee St, Charleston, SC. My results were pretty much the same across the 3 services. Bing: 103.7 miles. Google: 103 miles. Mapquest: 103.40 miles.

The VA regulations allow VA to simplify the process by using a Zip Code to Zip Code mapping procedure as well. I chose to use Savannah, Georgia's 31419 to Charleston, South Carolina's 29401. I got: Bing: 121.8 miles. Google: 123 miles. Mapquest: 119.41 miles.

Even though the Zip to Zip can't be quite as precise as direct addresses, it still seems that the 3 services are pretty much in agreement.

Then I decided to use your addresses as well as I could. I used London, KY and Chavies, KY as the travel points. I found that from Chavies to London is measured as, Bing: 69.5 miles. Google: 69.5 miles. Mapquest: 69.4 miles. They all offered a similar route as being the best.

The bottom line is this; Any time we disagree with any VA decision we have an absolute right to appeal. Appeals are usually best done formally, in writing and delivered via certified mail RRR. When we appeal a decision that VA has made, we must get all of our facts in order before we step forward. Our best shot at getting something corrected is the first time we go for it.

If you will give me the exact travel points that you're referencing in your message to me, I'll be happy to conduct a similar study as those above to see what we come up with. Then, it will help if you can learn what was being used prior to any changes in your travel pay. That way we can learn of any discrepancy between the old pay rates and the new. If you aren't being paid accurately for every mile of travel, just as the law requires, I'll then take it up with the right people.