VA Health Care Services & Benefits Programs

Index

General Information

How can you apply for VA benefits?

What other documents may you need to apply for VA benefits?

Who is eligible for VA benefits and services?

What is a Military Discharge and how does it affect your entitlement?

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General 

If you served in the military, you may be entitled to one or more of the following benefits. Contact your local VA regional office, medical center or vet center for more information.

• Disability Compensation for disabilities and medical conditions that are service related                                      
• Disability Pension for non-service related disabilities                                      
• Education Assistance Programs                                      
• Work-Study Allowance                                      
• Vocational Rehabilitation & Counseling                                      
• Insurance                                      
• Home Loan Benefits                                      
• Medical Inpatient & Outpatient care                                      
• Substance Abuse treatment & counseling                                      
• Sexual Trauma & Assault Counseling                                      
• Nursing Home care                                      
• Burial Benefits                                      
• Burial in a VA National Cemetery                                      
• Employment Assistance                                      
• Survivors' Benefit Programs

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How can you apply for VA Benefits & Services ? 

Benefits: visit or call any VA Regional Office. A VA representative will answer your questions, help you complete applications & provide you with additional information you may need to submit your claim.  For your convenience, Veterans Benefits Administration provides online application for certain benefits.  

Medical Care: apply directly to the VA hospital or health care facility you want to use. A hospital representative will help you apply for treatment & let you know if you qualify for VA medical care & services. For your convenience, Veterans Health Administration provides online VA Form 10-10EZ : Application for Health Benefits.  Submission of this application will provide VA with the information that we need to begin the enrollment application process for you.  By completing this application online, you can submit the form electronically and we can expedite your enrollment. 

IMPORTANT -- When you file a VA claim or request VA medical care for the first time, you should always take a copy of your military service discharge form or separation document (this may be a DD Form 214) with you.  Your military separation document provides VA with your service dates, type of discharge, your full name, military service number, branch & dates of service.  If you do not have your military separation paper, or you have lost it, you may still apply for VA benefits & services. VA will try to help you obtain service verification. VA may request additional information depending on the type of benefit or service you request. Top of the Document

What other documents may be needed to apply for VA benefits? 

Each VA benefit or service has different eligibility requirements. The most common information requested includes: military service verification, your marriage certificate, your children's birth certificates, & verification of the income you receive such as wages, social security, or other retirement benefits. If you apply for benefits as the widow(er) of a deceased veteran, you will need to show VA a copy of his or her death certificate. A VA representative will let you know exactly what additional information is needed. Top of the Document

 Who is eligible for VA benefits & services? 

Generally, you must have served full-time in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, or as a commissioned officer of the Public Health Service, the Environmental Services Administration or the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration.

In some cases, if your only service was as a reservist or a member of the National Guard, you may be entitled to certain VA benefits. Eligibility for most VA benefits & services is based on discharge from active military service under other than dishonorable conditions. 

Women & men with similar service are entitled to the same VA benefits. The Department of Defense has certified service in 29 organizations during special periods including World War I & II as active military service. 

For service to qualify, the Defense Secretary must certify that the group has provided active military service. Individual members must be issued a discharge by the Defense Secretary to qualify for VA benefits. Service in the following specific groups has been certified as active military service for benefits purposes: 

• Women's Air Forces Service Pilots (WASPs)                  
• Signal Corps Female Telephone Operators Unit of WW I                  
• Engineer Field Clerks                  
• Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC)                  
• Quartermaster Corps female clerical employees serving with the American Expeditionary Forces in WW I                  
• Civilian employees of Pacific naval air bases who actively participated in defense of Wake Island during WW II                 
• Reconstruction aids & dietitians in WW I                  
• Male civilian ferry pilots                 
• Wake Island defenders from Guam                  
• Civilian personnel assigned to OSS secret intelligence                 
• Guam Combat Patrol                  
• Quartermaster Corps members of the Keswick crew on Corregidor during WW II                 
• US civilians who participated in the defense of Bataan                  
• US merchant seamen who served on blockships in support of Operation Mulberry in the WW II invasion of Normandy                 
• American merchant marines in oceangoing service during WW II                  
• Civilian Navy, IFF radar technicians who served in combat areas of the Pacific during WW II                  
• US civilians of the American Field Service who served in overseas in WW II                 
• US civilians of the American Field Service who served overseas under US armies & US army groups in WW II                  
• US civilian employees of American Airlines who served overseas in a contract with the Air Transport Command between December 14, 1941, & August 14, 1945                  
• Civilian crewmen of US Coast & Geodetic Survey vessels who served in areas of immediate military hazard while conducting cooperative operations with & for the US Armed Forces between December 7, 1941, & August 14, 1945                 
• Members of the American Volunteer Group (Flying Tigers) serving between December 7, 1941, & July 18, 1942                  
• US civilian flight crew & ground support employees of United Air Lines who served overseas in a contract with Air Transport Command between December 14, 1941, & August 14, 1945                  
• US civilian flight crew & aviation ground support employees of Transcontinental & Western Air, Inc. (TWA), who served overseas in a contract with the Air Transport Command between December 14, 1941, & August 14, 1945                 
• US civilian flight crew & aviation ground support employees of Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corp. (Consairway Division) who served overseas in a contract with Air Transport Command between December 14, 1941, & August 14, 1945                 
• US Civilian flight crew & aviation ground support employees of Pan American World Airways & its subsidiaries & affiliates, who served overseas in a contract with the Air Transport Command & Naval Air Transport Service between December 14, 1941, & August 14, 1945                  
• Honorably discharged members of the American Volunteer Guard, Eritea Service Command, between June 21, 1942, & March 31, 1943                 
• US civilian flight crew & aviation ground support employees of Northwest Airlines who served overseas under the airline's contract with Air Transport command from December 14, 1941, through August 14, 1945                 
• US civilian female employees of the US Army Nurse Corps who served in the defense of Bataan & Corregidor in 1942.

What is a Military Discharge & how does it affect your entitlement to VA benefits?

The Defense Department issues a military discharge when you are released from active duty. This form, usually a DD Form 214, provides information about your service such as the character of your discharge, (honorable, general, other than honorable, bad conduct & dishonorable) the dates of your service, personal data, & other information. Honorable & general discharges qualify you for most VA benefits. Dishonorable & Bad-Conduct discharges issued by general courts-martial are a bar to receipt of VA benefits.

Want more information?

Call Toll Free at 1-800-827-1000

Addresses and phone numbers for VA benefits offices and health care facilities in your local community can be found at: The VA Facility and Leadership Directory 

Do you have a specific concern or comment about VA programs and services for women veterans?  Contact VA Women Veteran Program Officials.

Remember, most VA facilities have a Women Veterans Coordinator to assist you in applying for VA benefit programs and health care services.  Contact your local Coordinator today. 

Please send your comments on this page to The Center for Women Veterans Contact the VA  Write to: Department of Veterans Affairs Central Office (00W) 810 Vermont Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20420

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Reviewed/Updated: October 9, 2002