Simplified travel claims submissions now available on VA mobile app

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) recently announced that eligible Veterans can now submit and track “mileage-only” travel claims directly from a smartphone or mobile device via the VA Health and Benefits mobile app.

With the official VA: Health & Benefits app, veterans can manage their VA health care, benefits, and payments from their mobile phone or tablet. The app, which has more than three million downloads, automatically identifies when a Veteran’s appointment may be eligible for mileage reimbursement and displays a prompt on the home screen. Just a few simple taps are needed to confirm details.

The new feature could potentially reduce the number of paper claim submissions, which can take longer for VA to process.

Veterans who meet certain criteria, such as having a service-connected disability rating of 30% or higher, are eligible for health care travel reimbursement if they traveled in their own vehicle from their home address to their VA medical appointment.

“VA is evolving to meet the needs of today’s Veterans, and this new feature is proof of that,” said VA Secretary Doug Collins. “We look forward to rolling out many more improvements in the future as we continue to make the department work better for the Veterans, families, caregivers and survivors we serve.”

The VA app already allows veterans to refill and track VA prescriptions, send and receive secure messages from their VA health care team, review appointments and add them to their calendar, and get their records for VA vaccines, such as COVID-19.

Veterans can also utilize the app to check their disability rating, review claim or appeal status, submit evidence for claims or appeal, update direct deposit information, and locate VA facilities. Veterans can also use it to show proof of their Veteran status.

The app can access the Veterans Crisis Line when needed.

The app can be downloaded on Android and iOS devices.

For more information about how to use the mobile app and its new features, or to download the app, please visit the Mobile VA Health and Benefits page at www.mobile.va.gov/app/va-health-and-benefits