Health Benefits
Unlike most VA health care benefits, dental benefits is limited to only certain veterans. Following discharge for active duty, VA dental benefits is available to any eligible veteran who applies for dental care within 180 days of discharge or release from a period of active duty of 90 days or more during the Persian Gulf War era. However, your DD214, certificate of discharge, must not state that a complete dental examination and all appropriate dental treatment was rendered prior to your discharge.
After 180 days, VA is only authorized to provide dental benefits if you:
- Have a service-connected compensable dental disability or condition
- Have a service-connected disabilities rated 100% disabling, or are unemployable and paid at the 100% rate due to service connected conditions
- Have a service-connected non-compensable dental condition or disability resulting from combat wounds or service trauma
- Have a dental condition clinically determined by VA to be associated with and aggravating a service-connected medical condition
- Are actively engaged in a 38 USC Chapter 31 vocational rehabilitation program
- Are receiving VA care or are scheduled for inpatient care and require dental care for a condition complicating a medical condition currently under treatment or
- Are an enrolled Veteran who may be homeless and receiving care under VHA Directive 2007-039.
Additional information on VA’s Dental program can be located at https://www.va.gov/dental/patients.asp.
Veterans who served in a combat theater of operation after Nov. 11, 1998, are eligible to enroll in the VA health care system and will receive cost free health care for 5 years from the date of discharge or release from active duty for any condition potentially related to their combat service.
Once your 5 year combat eligibility expires, VA will reassess your eligibility to determine whether you have been awarded additional benefits such as VA service-connection, VA pension, or other awards that will allow you to continue receiving cost-free VA health care. If VA determines you do not have any awards that would allow you to continue receiving cost-free VA health care, while you will continue to be enrolled and eligible for VA health care, VA will determine if you will be required to make copayment for all future care. For further, information call: 1-877-222-8387.
Veterans may be eligible for payment or reimbursement for travel costs to receive VA medical care. Mileage reimbursement is paid at 41.5 cents per mile and is subject to a deductible of $3 for each one-way, $6 for a round trip, with a maximum of $18 per calendar month. Deductibles can be waived if they pose a financial hardship to the veteran. Two exceptions to the deductible are travel for a compensation or pension examination and travel by special modes of transportation, such as an ambulance or a specially equipped van. Beneficiary travel payments may be made to the following:
a. Veterans whose service-connected disabilities are rated at 30 percent or more
b. Veterans traveling for treatment of a service-connected condition
c. Veterans who receive a VA pension
d. Veterans traveling for scheduled compensation or pension examinations
e. Veterans whose income does not exceed the maximum VA pension rate
f. Veterans whose medical condition requires use of a special mode of transportation, if the veteran is unable to defray the costs and travel is pre-authorized. If the medical condition is a medical emergency, travel need not be preauthorized when a delay to obtain authorization would be hazardous. Consult your local VA Medical Facility.
For special mode transportation purposes, VA regulation 38 CFR 70.10(c) defines "unable to defray the cost of travel" as follows:
A veteran or other person shall be considered unable to defray the expenses of travel if,
- Annual income for the year immediately preceding the application for benefits does not exceed the maximum annual rate of pension which would be payable if the person were eligible for pension; or
- The person is able to demonstrate that due to circumstances such as loss of employment, or incidence of a disability, income in the year of application will not exceed the maximum annual rate of pension which would be payable if the person were eligible for pension; or
- The person has a service-connected disability rated at least 30 percent; or
- The person is traveling in connection with treatment of a service-connected disability.
For more information, please go to: https://www.va.gov/healthbenefits/vtp/beneficiary_travel.asp.