§ 111. Payments or allowances for beneficiary travel
(a)
Under regulations prescribed by the President pursuant to the provisions of this section, the Secretary may pay the actual necessary expense of travel (including lodging and subsistence), or in lieu thereof an allowance based upon mileage traveled, of any person to or from a Department facility or other place in connection with vocational rehabilitation, counseling required by the Secretary pursuant to chapter 34 or 35 of this title, or for the purpose of examination, treatment, or care. In addition to the mileage allowance authorized by this section, there may be allowed reimbursement for the actual cost of ferry fares, and bridge, road, and tunnel tolls.
(b)
(1)
Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section and notwithstanding subsection (g)(2)(A) of this section or any other provision of law, if, with respect to any fiscal year, the Secretary exercises the authority under this section to make any payments, the Secretary shall make the payments provided for in this section to or for the following persons for travel during such fiscal year for examination, treatment, or care for which the person is eligible:
(A)
A veteran or other person whose travel is in connection with treatment or care for a service-connected disability.
(D)
A veteran
(i)
whose annual income (as determined under section
1503 of this title) does not exceed the maximum annual rate of pension which would be payable to such veteran if such veteran were eligible for pension under section
1521 of this title, or
(ii)
who is determined, under regulations prescribed by the Secretary, to be unable to defray the expenses of the travel for which payment under this section is claimed.
(E)
Subject to paragraph (3) of this subsection, a veteran or other person whose travel to or from a Department facility is medically required to be performed by a special mode of travel and who is determined under such regulations to be unable to defray the expenses of the travel for which payment under this section is claimed.
(2)
The Secretary may make payments provided for in this section to or for any person not covered by paragraph (1) of this subsection for travel by such person for examination, treatment, or care. Such payments shall be made in accordance with regulations which the Secretary shall prescribe.
(3)
(A)
Except as provided in subparagraph (B) of this paragraph, the Secretary shall not make payments under this section for travel performed by a special mode of travel unless
(i)
the travel by such mode is medically required and is authorized by the Secretary before the travel begins, or
(ii)
the travel by such mode is in connection with a medical emergency of such a nature that the delay incident to obtaining authorization from the Secretary to use that mode of travel would have been hazardous to the person’s life or health.
(B)
In the case of travel by a person to or from a Department facility by special mode of travel, the Secretary may provide payment under this section to the provider of the transportation by special mode before determining the eligibility of such person for such payment if the Secretary determines that providing such payment is in the best interest of furnishing care and services. Such a payment shall be made subject to subsequently recovering from such person the amount of the payment if such person is determined to have been ineligible for payment for such travel.
(c)
(1)
Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, the Secretary, in making a payment under this section to or for a person described in subparagraph (A), (B), (C), or (D) of subsection (b)(1) of this section for travel for examination, treatment, or care, shall deduct from the amount otherwise payable an amount equal to $3 for each one-way trip.
(2)
In the case of a person who is determined by the Secretary to be a person who is required to make six or more one-way trips for needed examination, treatment, or care during the remainder of the calendar month in which the determination is made or during any subsequent calendar month during the one-year period following the last day of the month in which the determination is made, the amount deducted by the Secretary pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection from payments for trips made to or from such facility during any such month shall not exceed $18.
(3)
No deduction shall be made pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection in the case of a person whose travel to or from a Department facility is performed by a special mode of travel for which payment under this section is authorized under subsection (b)(3) of this section.
(4)
The Secretary may waive the deduction requirement of paragraph (1) of this subsection in the case of the travel of any veteran for whom the imposition of the deduction would cause severe financial hardship. The Secretary shall prescribe in regulations the conditions under which a finding of severe financial hardship is warranted for purposes of this paragraph.
(d)
Payment of the following expenses or allowances in connection with vocational rehabilitation, counseling, or upon termination of examination, treatment, or care, may be made before the completion of travel:
(e)
When any person entitled to mileage under this section requires an attendant (other than an employee of the Department) in order to perform such travel, the attendant may be allowed expenses of travel upon the same basis as such person.
(f)
The Secretary may provide for the purchase of printed reduced-fare requests for use by veterans and their authorized attendants when traveling at their own expense to or from any Department facility.
(g)
(1)
Subject to paragraph (3), in determining the amount of allowances or reimbursement to be paid under this section, the Secretary shall use the mileage reimbursement rate for the use of privately owned vehicles by Government employees on official business (when a Government vehicle is available), as prescribed by the Administrator of General Services under section
5707
(b) of title
5.
(2)
In no event shall payment be provided under this section—
(A)
unless the person claiming reimbursement has been determined, pursuant to regulations which the Secretary shall prescribe, to be unable to defray the expenses of such travel (except with respect to a person receiving benefits for or in connection with a service-connected disability under this title, a veteran receiving or eligible to receive pension under section
1521 of this title, or a person whose annual income, determined in accordance with section
1503 of this title, does not exceed the maximum annual rate of pension which would be payable to such person if such person were eligible for pension under section
1521 of this title);
(h)
The Secretary, in consultation and coordination with the Secretary of Transportation and appropriate representatives of veterans’ service organizations, shall take all appropriate steps to facilitate the establishment and maintenance of a program under which such organizations, or individuals who are volunteering their services to the Department, would take responsibility for the transportation, without reimbursement from the Department, to Department facilities of veterans (primarily those residing in areas which are geographically accessible to such facilities) who seek services or benefits from the Department under chapter 17 or other provisions of this title.