Yes, that is correct. You can be reimbursed for mileage to see your doctor, the insurance doctor, the state doctor, or any doctors referred by any of those doctors, including therapy, diagnostics, etc. The drive must be 30 or more miles away… one way. You can get this form on the Texas Department of Insurance website, and you have one year to file it from the date of the doctor appointment.
Note that if you are seeing your doctor, and the Department of Workers’ Comp can list other doctors that are closer to you, they do not have to reimburse you. This is unfortunate, since even if these surrounding doctors won’t see you, the mere fact that they are closer and accept workers’ comp is all the carrier has to show to get out of reimbursing you for your mileage. In some cases, this is definitely worth fighting. If you live in a rural area where there are not many choices of doctors to see for your work-related injury, you stand a much better chance of getting your mileage reimbursed.
When you submit your form, be sure to do it in a manner that you are able to prove that the carrier received it, either via fax (with fax confirmation) or by certified mail, return receipt requested. The carrier has 45 days to review and either pay or issue a denial. If they do not act within the 45 days, then they must pay the mileage reimbursement. Although it changes, the mileage rate is about 54 cents currently. So keep track of your mileage, and if it’s 60 miles round trip, submit it to the insurance carrier for reimbursement.
