Veteran and Military Information

Department of Veterans Affairs

Phone: 1-800-827-1000

Enrolling in VA Benefits

In 1996, Congress passed the Veterans Health Care Eligibility Reform Act stating that any veteran who wants to receive VA Health Care Services must now enroll. Veterans can enroll by filling out VA Form 10-10EZ. To get the form:

• Visit, call or write a local VA care or benefits office. VA services are listed in the blue pages of the phone book under “U.S. Government.”
• Call the VA Enrollment Center at 1-877-222-VETS.
• Order the form online at www.va.gov

Veteran will need to have a copy of his DD-214 (Honorable Discharge Certificate).

Once Veteran enrolls, they will be assigned one of two eligibility categories and a priority ranking. The first category is a “must do” group. The VA must provide hospital and outpatient care to veterans who have a service-connected disability, and to former POWs, World War I veterans, and low-income veterans. Depending upon funding, the VA may also offer nursing home care to this group as well. The disability is graded and given priority levels. Low income is determined by an income eligibility test.

The second category is a “may do” group. The VA may provide health care services, depending on the resources the VA has, and the veteran agrees to pay a co-payment for the care.

There are seven priority groups that the VA assigns to veterans who have enrolled for VA health care benefits. For example, vets with a service-connected disability that is 50 percent or more disabling, are given a priority group 1 status. Many veterans among the WWII generation fall into the priority group 5 ranking, which means they do not have a disability connected to the war but their annual income and net worth are low income as determined by the VA system. If a veteran is not low income and is not disabled, he is near the bottom of the priority list. He is still eligible for services but he will pay a co-payment.

Still under construction. Last updated 12/14/2005