HEAL Act
Key claim: The HEAL Act would raise VA beneficiary travel mileage reimbursement from 41.5 cents to 70 cents per mile and eliminate the deductible for veterans traveling for examination, treatment, or care.
Abstract
(HR5277 · 119th Congress) Heroes Earned Affordable Lifts Act or the HEAL Act This bill modifies the administration of the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) beneficiary travel benefit available to individuals traveling for vocational rehabilitation, required counseling, or for examination, treatment, or care. The bill increases the mileage reimbursement rate for beneficiary travel to or from VA facilities in connection with vocational rehabilitation, required counseling, or for the purpose of examination, treatment or care. Specifically, the bill raises the rate from 41.5 cents per mile to the rate for a privately owned automobile when no government vehicle is available (currently 70 cents per mile). The bill prohibits the VA from requiring a deductible for beneficiary travel for examination, treatment, or care. The bill also provides that veterans service organizations and veterans service agencies that provide transportation for examinations, treatment, or care to veterans may be allowed expenses of travel upon the same basis as such veteran beneficiaries. Latest action (2025-09-22): Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
Why this matters
The HEAL Act sits at the edge of the Labor & Employment area: it does not change wages, classification, or workplace rules, but it adjusts the out-of-pocket cost veterans bear when traveling to VA-funded care, which can affect access to services connected to employment rehabilitation programs like VR&E. For workers who are veterans, a higher mileage rate and no deductible would reduce financial friction in reaching medical evaluations; for employers and VA administrators, it is a modest budget and reimbursement-processing change rather than a new policy framework.