Originally Posted by
rice paddy daddy
The VA only pays travel expenses if you are below a certain income threshold.
I enrolled in VA medical so I could get hearing aids. Which they provided - over $5,000 for the pair, plus free batteries for life.
There are 8 Priority Groups. Which one you get enrolled in depends on if you have a service connected disability, or if you are a Vietnam vet, or combat vet of Iraq & the Stan, or the two lowest which are for veterans in general (Groups 7 & 8).
Groups 7 & 8 have copays, depending on your income. But they are still a hell of a lot lower than insurance.
Once you are enrolled, you must get a yearly physical to stay enrolled. You just don't sign up and that's it. For me, this is a good thing - I am on the VA Agent Orange Registry and the tests the VA does includes ones specific to this besides regular blood work. And they have done some other specialized AO testing on me.
Since there are less than 900,000 left of the original 2.6 million vets who were boots on the ground in Nam, thanks to Agent Orange, this is important to me.
I use the VA as preventive medicine. Unless you have a service connected disability, for regular medical care there are better options - if you have insurance or Medicare.