GI Bill for Certification Exam Payments

[MusicDOc124]

Hey all,

Separate from VR&E in which these things can be paid/reimbursed through he program, I know the GI Bill can pay for certifications via a reimbursement model - I believe 1 month of benefit per certification (may have a cap of cost per cert, but I'd have to double check).

Has anyone utilized it in this way?

And as a follow-up, what if you are currently using the GI Bill otherwise since we can't utilize benefits concurrently, even though it's just a reimbursement.

My situation for context: I still have my whole GI Bill, but a delimiting date in less than 3 years. I plan to use it for a masters soon. My boards are in September, which will be during a semester. The exam is already paid for, but won't take until then. Results will come in Nov or Dec.

Thanks for any info!
Music

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[BC_89]

Sry for delay in response (been slowly preparing/moving across the country since wrapping up residency):

I know of one individual who did indeed use there GI Bill + reimbursement for a certification. The cap for any certification is $2,000. What they did was simply take off the last month of benefits while they were in residency. May seem like double-dipping, but they just banked more cash up front with the trade-off of having housing coverage for last 30-days of residency taken off. Was actually a fair trade since apparently housing coverage was the same as the certification coverage.

Not sure if that is what you're asking - also the cap coverage is pending to change either in September or October (usually October) so I'd probably double check if it has/will go up or down as for as reimbursements goes.

Depending on the specific type of board certification, you can see if its covered at this link (have not seen one that isn't as of yet):
Find out which tests are covered and how much they cost

Edit: this clause was included on there site:
For tests taken after August 1, 2018, we’ll prorate the entitlement charges under the Post-9/11 GI Bill based on the actual amount of the fee charged for the test.

 

[MusicDOc124]

My exams are covered. I’m just currently using the GI bill and don’t want it to affect its use. I don’t care about the month being use per exam, i just want to be able to use it for reimbursement and still use the GI bill as I currently am.

 

[BC_89]

Ah i see - makes more sense after reading it a couple of times (I completely missed the question altogether).

I don't know anyone who has done it that way and am not sure how to appropriately claim the reimbursement in that matter...

 

[MusicDOc124]

I reached out to askVA who got back saying it will not affect its use. Although they stated chapter 31, I asked again for clarification regarding chapter 33, and they replied again saying chapter 31. I'm sure they intended to write chapter 33, but nonetheless, it seems like it's not really considered "concurrent" per se, thus wouldn't affect enrollment.