Citation Nr: 21021044 Decision Date: 04/09/21 Archive Date: 04/09/21 DOCKET NO. 18-05 870A DATE: April 9, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to payment or reimbursement for beneficiary travel expenses for lodging and meals in the amount of $50.47, associated with travel to a non-VA medical facility, from January 10, 2018, through January 12, 2018, is granted. FINDING OF FACT 1. The Veteran received private medical treatment in Spokane Valley, Washington on January 11, 2018. 2. The Veteran incurred lodging expenses in excess of $51.00 per night lodging government, and actual meal expenses totaling $36.47, associated with the January 11, 2018, private treatment. 3. Giving the benefit of the doubt to the Veteran, his lodging and meal expenses were pre-authorized. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for payment or reimbursement for beneficiary travel expenses for lodging and meals in the amount of $50.47, associated with travel to non-VA medical facilities, from January 10, 2018, through January 12, 2018, have been met. 38 U.S.C. § 111; 38 C.F.R. §§ 70.2, 70.10, 70.20, 70.30. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran had active service from November 1969 to May 1971. This claim was previously before the Board in July 2019, at which time the Board remanded it for additional development. Entitlement to payment or reimbursement for beneficiary travel expenses for lodging and meals associated with travel to a non-VA medical facility, from January 10, 2018, through January 12, 2018 Generally, VA beneficiary travel is a payment for travel expenses incurred in the United States to help Veterans and other persons obtain care or services from the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). 38 U.S.C. § 111; 38 C.F.R. § 70.10. A Veteran is eligible for beneficiary travel payments for travel to or from a VA facility or VA-authorized health care facility for the following: 1) treatment for a service-connected disability, regardless of the disability rating; 2) treatment for any disability, provided that the Veteran has a service-connected disability rated at 30 percent or more; 3) a scheduled compensation and pension examination; 4) if the Veteran receives pension under 38 U.S.C. § 1521; 5) if the Veteran’s annual income does not exceed the maximum annual rate of pension that the Veteran would receive under 38 U.S.C. § 1521; or, 6) if, the Veteran is unable to defray the expenses of that travel under certain circumstances. 38 U.S.C. § 111; 38 C.F.R. § 70.10(a). At the time of the January 2018 private treatment, service connection was in effect for hepatitis C with a rating of 100 percent. Therefore, the Veteran met the basic requirement for VA beneficiary travel benefits. 38 U.S.C. § 111; 38 C.F.R. § 70.10(a). The actual cost for meals, lodging, or both, not to exceed 50 percent of the amount allowed for government employees under 5 U.S.C. § 5702, may be paid or reimbursed when VA determines that an overnight stay if required. 38 C.F.R. § 70.30(a)(iv)(3). Prior approval must be obtained for payment for meals and/or lodging. 38 C.F.R. § 70.20(d). The record shows that six days prior to the January 11, 2018, private treatment, the Veteran requested payment for lodging related to the treatment. The request was approved, and a note in the claims file states that the Veteran would obtain his own lodging and present the receipts. The record does not contain a preauthorization letter related to lodging or meals for the January 11, 2018, private treatment. The preauthorization letter in the claims file is not addressed to a specific individual, and the dates therein do not correspond to the Veteran’s treatment date. Therefore, it appears to be a sample letter. It appears that payment for lodging was preauthorized without written approval being sent to the Veteran. On January 12, 2018, the Veteran submitted a claim for travel expenses related to the January 11, 2018, private treatment. The listed expenses were $134.00 for lodging and $36.47 for meals. The Veteran submitted a receipt from a hotel for $134.00 for the nights of January 10 and 11, 2018. A letter from a private provider located in Spokane Valley, Washington states that the Veteran received a colonoscopy on January 11, 2018. In a January 2018 decision, payment for mileage and $44.00 per night for lodging ($88.00 total) was approved, and payment for meals was denied. The record shows that the $44.00 per night of lodging was based on the rate of the hotel that VA originally booked for the Veteran. In his January 2018 notice of disagreement, the Veteran wrote of poor conditions at the hotel that VA had booked for him. He therefore stayed at a different hotel. The government per diem rate for lodging in Spokane was $102.00 a night as of January 2018, and the per diem rate for meals was $64.00 a night. Given the lack of written preauthorization in the claims file, it cannot be determined whether the Veteran was preauthorized for as much as $51 a night, or half the per diem, for lodging, or if he was approved for meals. Giving the benefit of the doubt to the Veteran, the Board finds that he was preauthorized for as much as $51 per diem for lodging and $64.00 in meals. Since the Veteran has already been paid $44.00 a night for lodging and his actual lodging expenses were in excess of the maximum payable rate of half the per diem, or $51.00 a night, payment or reimbursement for an additional $7.00 per night, $14.00 total, for lodging is granted. See 38 C.F.R. § 70.30(a)(iv)(3). Furthermore, payment or reimbursement for the actual meal expenses, $36.47, is granted. Overall, payment or reimbursement for $50.47 of expenses for lodging and meals related to the January 11, 2018, private treatment is therefore granted. Michael J. Skaltsounis Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board Scott Shoreman, Counsel The Board’s decision in this case is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided. This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.