USVI Medical Travel Reimbursement

This benefit is the mirror image of federal beneficiary travel, and it is the most useful thing the Virgin Islands does for its veterans. Federal beneficiary travel under 38 U.S.C. § 111 pays when you have a rating of thirty percent or more, or when you are travelling for care related to a service-connected condition. It does not pay for a veteran travelling for something unconnected to service. That gap is exactly what the territory fills, and the Government Accountability Office noted it in 2024: an official from the U.S. Virgin Islands Office of Veterans Affairs told GAO that the office will reimburse veterans for health care-related travel when VA will not. Inside the VA Caribbean Healthcare network. Policy Letter 3 of April 15, 2020 provides that Virgin Islands Veterans travelling to the closest VA medical facility for medical appointments are eligible for one hundred percent reimbursement of flight arrangements, on four conditions. The appointment must be verified in writing by the local VA Community Based Outpatient Clinic, and the appointment slip must be presented to the Office of Veterans Affairs on return. The appointment must be initiated by the CBOC, or authorized by the State Director of the Office of Veterans Affairs on an emergency basis before travel. The appointment must be a non-service-connected appointment. And flight arrangements for one family member or other companion can be reimbursed if the attending physician states in writing that an attendant is needed. The age rule is the one to remember. "All Veterans seventy (70) years of age or older are authorized to be reimbursed for a travel companion whether the CBOC states so in writing or not." At seventy, the companion is automatic and no physician letter is required. Outside the VA Caribbean network. Virgin Islands Veterans travelling beyond the network may be reimbursed at a rate of no more than $250, and the conditions run the other way from what you might expect. The veteran must be no more than forty percent service-connected. Proof of the disability rating must be submitted annually. The care must be at a VA Hospital or VA Medical Center, and the policy says expressly that being seen at a CBOC does not qualify. Reimbursement must be approved by the State Director of the Office of Veterans Affairs. So the territorial scheme is built around the federal one: it pays where federal travel does not, and it caps out where federal travel begins. A veteran at fifty percent travelling for a service-connected condition uses federal beneficiary travel; a veteran at zero percent travelling for something unrelated uses this. Why it matters so much here. GAO reported that seventy-six percent of the Virgin Islands' VA-enrolled veterans were not eligible for federal travel benefits in fiscal 2022, the highest proportion of any territory. VA Caribbean officials told GAO that the ineligible ones were generally seeking care for conditions that were not service connected, or did not meet income eligibility requirements. Three quarters of enrolled veterans here fall into the gap this policy exists to close. Two practical points. Keep the appointment slip; the policy makes presenting it a condition of payment. And get emergency travel authorized by the State Director before you fly, because the policy makes prior authorization the alternative to a CBOC-initiated appointment rather than something that can be cured afterwards. The policy letters date from April 2020 and say they remain in effect unless changed or rescinded by the current Director. The office has published travel reimbursement reminders since. Confirm the current rate and conditions with the office before you book.