About your VA medical benefits package
Each Veteran’s medical benefits package is unique. Keep reading on this page to learn more about what care and services your benefits may cover.
What basic health care services does VA cover?
Preventive care services
- Health exams (including gender-specific exams)
- Health education (including nutrition education)
- Immunization against infectious diseases (like flu shots)
- Counseling on genetic diseases (diseases that run in families)
Inpatient hospital services
- Surgeries
- Medical treatments
- Kidney dialysis
- Acute care (short-term treatment for a severe illness or injury or after surgery)
- Specialized care (including organ transplants, intensive care for mental and physical conditions, and care for traumatic injuries)
Urgent and emergency care services
We cover urgent or emergency care at some VA health facilities.
Find a VA health facility near you
We cover urgent care for injuries and illnesses that need attention right away, but aren’t life threatening, at urgent care locations that are part of our contracted network. This may include care at these VA-approved locations:
- Walk-in retail health clinics for minor illnesses like a sore throat or earache
- Urgent care facilities for more pressing (but not life-threatening) illnesses or injuries that require treatment like splinting, casting, or wound care
To use these services, you’ll need to be enrolled in VA health care, and you’ll need to have received care from us within the past 24 months. Be sure to tell the urgent care provider that you’re using the VA urgent care benefit when you arrive.
Get advice on choosing between urgent and emergency care
We cover emergency care in a non-VA hospital, clinic, or other medical setting—only under certain conditions. For us to consider covering non-VA emergency care for a non-service-connected condition, you’ll need to meet several requirements.
Learn more about non-VA emergency medical care
Additional basic services and needs
- Mental health services to treat certain issues like posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), military sexual trauma (MST), depression, and substance use problems
Learn more about mental health services - Assisted living and home health care (depending on your needs and income as well as space in the programs)
Learn more about assisted living and home health care - Prescriptions written or approved by a VA doctor
Refill your prescriptions
What other medical services will VA cover to support my treatment?
We may cover services that your VA primary care provider concludes you need to support your treatment (called ancillary services), like these:
- Tests used to diagnose health conditions, including blood work, X-rays, and ultrasounds
- Therapy and rehabilitation services, including physical therapy, vision rehab, and therapy for traumatic brain injury
- Additional services, including prosthetic items, audiology (care for hearing loss), and radiation oncology (cancer care)
More information about VA medical benefits and services
Will VA cover any non-medical services to support my treatment?
You may be able to get help with some non-medical services, like these:
Will VA cover my vision care?
We cover routine eye exams and preventive tests. In some cases, you may get coverage for eyeglasses or services for blind or low-vision rehabilitation.
Will VA cover my dental care?
In certain cases, you may receive dental care as part of your VA health benefits.
Will VA cover my assisted living and home health care?
As a Veteran, you may be able to get assisted living, residential (live-in), or home health care through VA.
What services aren’t covered under VA health care?
These services aren’t included in the VA medical benefits package under current regulations:
- Cosmetic surgery, unless we conclude that it’s medically necessary (needed to prevent or treat a certain illness, injury, condition, disease, or symptoms)
- Gender-affirming surgical interventions
Learn more about gender-affirming surgery regulations on our patient care website - Health club or spa membership
- Inpatient hospital or outpatient care if you’re a patient or inmate in a non-VA government agency institution, if that agency must provide the care or services by law
- Medicines and medical devices that aren’t approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Exception: You can get VA health care for medicines and medical devices that aren’t approved by the FDA if you’re in an approved clinical trial. This exception also applies if you’re seriously ill and your VA health care provider prescribes a new, unapproved medicine because there are no other comparable treatment options (called a compassionate use or expanded access exemption).