{"id":7709,"date":"2025-12-18T19:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-18T19:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7709"},"modified":"2025-12-18T19:30:00","modified_gmt":"2025-12-18T19:30:00","slug":"use-your-phone-for-check-in-travel-claims","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7709","title":{"rendered":"Use your phone for check-in, travel claims"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"tni-source-date\"><strong>Originally published:<\/strong> 2025-12-18T19:30:00+00:00. Historical source article: benefits, rules, amounts and deadlines may have changed. Check the official source for current information.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">VA offers many ways to manage your care<\/h2>\n<p>Did you know that you can <a href=\"https:\/\/news.va.gov\/?s=check-in\">check-in<\/a> for your appointments from your phone?\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to complete pre-check-in (for some appointments)<\/h2>\n<p>1. Confirm your appointment by text message and wait for a pre-check-in text if available.<\/p>\n<p>If your appointment is eligible for this option, you\u2019ll receive a text message to confirm your appointment.\u00a0You may get this text up to a week before your appointment.\u00a0After you confirm, you\u2019ll receive another text to start your pre-check-in process. Pre-check-in helps you save time when you arrive for your appointment.<\/p>\n<p>Note:\u00a0You must receive VEText appointment reminders to use pre-check-in. If you\u2019ve opted out of VEText reminders,\u00a0you can restart these reminders\u00a0by texting\u00a0\u201cstart\u201d\u00a0to 53079 or by replying \u201cstart\u201d to any previous VEText message.<\/p>\n<p>2. Tap on the link to start your pre-check-in.<\/p>\n<p>When you start your pre-check-in, we\u2019ll verify your identity in two ways:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>We\u2019ll match your smartphone number with the one we have on file for you.<\/li>\n<li>We\u2019ll\u00a0ask you to provide your last name and the last 4 digits of your Social Security Number.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Note:\u00a0Data charges may apply.<\/p>\n<p>3. Answer the questions to complete your pre-check-in.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ll ask you to confirm this information:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Your current contact information.<\/li>\n<li>Your next of kin.<\/li>\n<li>Your emergency contact.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>We\u2019ll confirm when you\u2019ve completed pre-check-in. When you arrive at the facility, you can then use your smartphone to tell us you\u2019re here and complete your check-in.<\/p>\n<p>Note:\u00a0If you need to update any of your information, a staff member will help you on the day of your appointment. Be sure to bring your insurance card with you to your appointment.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to check in (and start travel claim if eligible)\u00a0<\/h2>\n<p>1. You can start the online check-in process in one of these two ways:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>If you opted in to VEText appointment reminders, you should get a text with a link from us 45 minutes before your appointment.<\/li>\n<li>Text\u00a0\u201ccheck in\u201d\u00a0to 53079. In a few seconds, you should get a text back with a link.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><\/ol>\n<p>Note:\u00a0You can check in up to 45 minutes before and 15 minutes after your appointment time. If you have more than 1 appointment in a day, you\u2019ll need to check in for each appointment separately. If you need to check in earlier or later, or if you need to update your contact or other information, you\u2019ll need to check in with a staff member.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>2. Select the link to start your check-in.<\/p>\n<p>When you start your check-in, we\u2019ll ask you a few questions to confirm who you are.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Note:\u00a0Data charges may apply.<\/p>\n<p>3. If required, answer these questions to complete your check-in. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>If you completed pre-check-in more than 7 days ago, we\u2019ll ask you to confirm this information:\u00a0<\/p>\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Your current contact information.<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 1.125rem\">Your next of kin<\/span>.<\/li>\n<li>Your emergency contact.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>4. You can choose to file a travel pay claim now.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re eligible for travel reimbursement, you can file a claim as part of the check-in process.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.va.gov\/health-care\/file-travel-pay-reimbursement\" rel=\"noopener\">Check to see if you\u2019re eligible for travel reimbursement<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ll ask you a few questions about how you traveled to your appointment to find out if you can file during check-in.<\/p>\n<p>If all of these things are true, you can file your travel pay claim during check-in:<\/p>\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>You traveled in your own vehicle,\u00a0and<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 1.125rem\">You traveled from your home address,\u00a0and<\/span><\/li>\n<li>You\u2019re claiming only mileage and no other expenses.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Before you file your first claim, be sure to set up direct deposit. We can then deposit your reimbursement into your bank account.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.va.gov\/resources\/how-to-set-up-direct-deposit-for-va-travel-pay-reimbursement\" rel=\"noopener\">Learn how to set up direct deposit for VA travel pay reimbursement<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Note:\u00a0If you want to file a claim for travel pay reimbursement after you check in, you can file on VA.gov, on the \u201cVA: Health and Benefits\u201d mobile app, in person or by email, fax or mail.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.va.gov\/health-care\/file-travel-pay-reimbursement\" rel=\"noopener\">File a claim for travel pay reimbursement after check-in<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>5. Select \u201cCheck in now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ll confirm that you\u2019re checked in and tell you where to wait. A staff member will come get you when it\u2019s time for your appointment to start.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Note:\u00a0If you wait more than 15 minutes, or if you haven\u2019t been called back by your scheduled appointment time, tell a staff member.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s never too late to apply for VA health care you\u2019ve earned. If you are a Veteran or know a Veteran who has not yet applied for VA health care benefits, learn how to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.choose.va.gov\/health\" rel=\"noopener\">get started<\/a>.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n<p>This article was originally published on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.va.gov\/sheridan-health-care\/stories\/new-patient-check-in-with-your-phone\/\" rel=\"noopener\">VA Sheridan Health care System site<\/a>and has been edited for style and clarity.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p class=\"tni-attribution\">Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/news.va.gov\/144021\/use-your-phone-for-check-in-travel-claims\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs<\/a>. Its Veterans is an independent publication and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. government.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>VA offers easy patient check-in and travel reimbursement by phone.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":318,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7709","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-claims-appeals","category-u-s-veterans-disabled-veterans"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Use your phone for check-in, travel claims - Its Veterans<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"VA offers easy patient check-in and travel reimbursement by phone.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7709\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Use your phone for check-in, travel claims - 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