Health care

The Stanislaus Regional Transit Authority's Medivan takes passengers from the Modesto Transit Center to Bay Area medical centers on weekdays, including the VA hospitals in Palo Alto, Menlo Park and Livermore. Veterans ride free; other patients pay $10 each way. Book one to 14 days ahead on 209-527-4900.

Veteran. Veterans ride free. No rating is needed.

Free rides for a Stark County veteran of 90 days, without regard to income, to the Akron, Canton and Parma VA clinics, the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center and VA community care appointments. Since March 1, 2026 the commission drives the Cleveland run itself instead of SARTA.

More than 90 days in the county, no income test. A Stark County veteran of more than 90 days with a VA appointment, whatever the income. No rating is needed.

The county’s 215-bed Riverside Rest Home runs monthly Veteran Luncheon Trips and a monthly Vets Meet Vets group for its residents, and hosts a flag-retirement ceremony and barbecue, a Veterans Day observance and the Memorial Day parade.

Resident veterans. The programming is for the home’s veteran residents; no application or rating is involved.

The State's Dwyer peer support programme began in Suffolk in 2012. The Association for Mental Health and Wellness runs it with the County Veterans Service Agency: confidential one-on-one and group peer support led by veterans, and a veterans food pantry on Tuesdays in Ronkonkoma. Call 631-853-8345.

Veterans. Free. No rating or discharge test is stated.

Sullivan County drives veterans to the Castle Point VA Medical Center and the Albany Stratton VA from the Government Center in Monticello (leaving 7:45 or 8 a.m.), with stops at Bloomingburg, Wurtsboro or Woodbourne and home pick-up on a doctor's letter; reserve with the Veterans Service Agency, 845-807-0233, by 11 a.m. the day before.

Sullivan County veterans. Veteran status must be established with a discharge document. No rating is needed.

Weekday rides from Akron to the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center and other VA sites, the VA's Kent imaging and infusion centre and the Ohio Veterans Home in Sandusky, booked ahead, with a Tuesday and Thursday pickup for the county's northeast.

A county veteran with a VA appointment. A Summit County veteran with proof of a VA medical appointment, booked ahead. No rating is needed.

A military retiree or family member using TRICARE in the Philippines is covered only at Preferred or Certified providers, except in an emergency. TRICARE For Life still requires Medicare Part B there, though Medicare pays nothing.

Military retirees and their families. TRICARE follows military retirement or a family relationship to a sponsor, not veteran status or a VA rating.

Six skilled nursing homes for veterans with a Tennessee connection. The discharge test is strict: the Attorney General has opined that a general discharge under honorable conditions does not qualify, and federal law does not override that.

Honorable discharge, and a general discharge does not count. Section 58-7-101(b). Attorney General Opinion 20-13 holds that a general discharge under honorable conditions is separate and distinct from an honorable discharge and does not satisfy the section, and that federal law does not preempt that criterion.

Ten state-owned skilled nursing homes for veterans, with staff trained on military experience and post-traumatic stress. A veteran with a 70% or higher service-connected disability generally lives there at no cost. Spouses and surviving spouses with a year in Texas, and a parent all of whose children died in service, may be admitted too.

A rating of 70% or more generally means no cost. Admission does not require a rating. A service-connected disability rating of 70% or higher is the point at which the Land Office says a veteran generally lives in the homes for free, because VA then covers the full cost. Below 70%, a veteran still qualifies for admission and the discounted per diem rate.

The Third Judicial District's Veterans Treatment Court, running since 2019 for all eleven counties of the district, holds its eastern sessions at the Olmsted County courthouse in Rochester: a voluntary 15 to 18 month programme with a judge-led team, VA partners, volunteer veteran mentors and help from treatment to housing.

Justice-involved veteran. Voluntary; admission is the court team's. A rating is not the test.

Tooele County's Aging Services, the area agency on aging in the county Health Department, runs VA's Veteran Directed Care programme for nursing-home-eligible veterans who want to stay at home and hire someone they know and trust as their caregiver; it grew from three veterans to nine in 2025 (435-277-2420).

Veteran VA finds needs nursing-home level care. VA decides eligibility on clinical need through its health care system; no particular rating is needed.

A free dental van from St. Elizabeths Hospital and the Kikel Dental Clinic comes to the commission office on the fourth Thursday of each month, doing everything from cleanings to extractions; veterans schedule by calling 330-536-3045.

A veteran scheduled with the monthly clinic. A veteran calls 330-536-3045 to schedule with the van on the fourth Thursday. No rating is needed.

A free van to the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center every weekday since 1988, leaving the Warren office at 7 a.m. for appointments between 8:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. and returning when the riders are done, or by 2:30 p.m.; 1,032 veterans rode in 2023.

A county veteran with a scheduled appointment. A Trumbull County veteran with an appointment at the Cleveland VA between 8:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. calls ahead for a seat; the van leaves at 7 a.m. No rating is needed.

Tuolumne County's Veterans Service Office drives veterans door to door to medical, dental and legal appointments inside and outside the county, paid for by a CalVet Mental Health Services Act grant ($110,000 for 2026-27 and 2027-28); book one to two weeks ahead on 209-459-1457 or 209-533-6280.

Tuolumne County veterans and their dependants. No rating or income test is published; book one to two weeks ahead.

The territory pays the airfare VA will not. One hundred percent of the flight for a non-service-connected appointment within the VA Caribbean network, and up to $250 outside it for a veteran rated no more than forty percent.

It pays precisely when VA will not. Within the VA Caribbean network the appointment must be a non-service-connected appointment. Federal beneficiary travel covers service-connected care and ratings of thirty percent or more; this covers the gap left over.

Utah enacted a 2026 law directing the Huntsman Mental Health Institute to run a clinical study of MDMA, psilocybin or 5-MeO-DMT assisted therapy for veterans with treatment-resistant PTSD. It is a research study, not a treatment programme, it starts only when enough money is raised or appropriated, and the target start date is January 1, 2027.

A PTSD diagnosis with a documented inadequate response to at least one evidence-based treatment. Utah Code § 26B-7-126(1)(c) and (k). Nothing requires the PTSD to be service-connected or rated by VA.

Four state homes in Salt Lake City, Ogden, Payson and Ivins, each at least 80 beds, run day to day by a contracted private provider. A veteran with a 70 percent or higher service-connected disability pays nothing. For others the VA pays a per diem of about $120 a day and the resident covers the rest. Spouses and Gold Star parents may be admitted but VA subsidises none of their care.

A 70 percent or higher service-connected rating means no cost at all. The Department of Veterans and Military Affairs states there is no cost for veterans at 70 percent or higher, which reflects the enhanced federal per diem under 38 U.S.C. § 1745. Below that the VA per diem is about $120 a day and the resident pays the balance. Recorded rather than enforced because admission itself needs no rating.

A veteran charged with a crime who has a mental health condition, a traumatic brain injury or a substance use disorder may be screened into a veterans treatment court, with judicial supervision and treatment in place of ordinary prosecution. The definition of veteran here is VA health care eligibility, which is the widest door in Utah law for someone with a bad paper discharge. The prosecutor must sign, and the courts exist only in districts that have created one.

Veteran here means qualifying for VA health care, not the general definition. Utah Code § 78A-5-302(7). There is no 180-day requirement and no discharge characterisation, so a veteran with bad paper who qualifies for VA health care is inside this part.

Uvalde County's Veterans Service Officer pays a veteran $35 toward the cost of getting to a medical appointment, on a reimbursement form signed by the physician's office with the appointment date; the county budgets $35,000 a year for it (830-278-4491).

Uvalde County veterans travelling to a medical appointment. For a veteran with a medical appointment confirmed by the physician’s office on the county form; $35 a trip. No rating is needed.

Mileage at 41.5 cents a mile, less a $3 one-way deductible capped at $18 a month, for travel to VA or VA-approved care by a veteran rated 30% or more, traveling for a service-connected condition, on pension, or with low income.

• Mileage rate: 41.5 cents a mile (read 2026-10-08)
• Deductible: $3 one way, $6 round trip, $18 a month cap (read 2026-10-08)

Rated 30% or more, or another path. A 30% rating qualifies for all care. Travel for a service-connected condition, pension, low income and C&P exams are other paths below 30%.

The only VA medical center in any territory is in San Juan, with five community-based outpatient clinics, three other clinics and three Vet Centers serving about 61,000 enrolled veterans across Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

Ordinary VA health care enrollment. Eligibility and priority group follow the usual federal rules. A service-connected rating changes priority and copays rather than opening or closing the door.

VA-paid care from a community provider when VA cannot see an enrolled veteran within 30 minutes’ drive and 20 days for primary or mental health care, or 60 minutes and 28 days for specialty care.

Enrolled in VA health care. The veteran must be enrolled in VA health care or otherwise eligible for VA care, and meet one of the six community care criteria.

Free comprehensive dental care for a veteran rated 100% or paid at the 100% rate for unemployability, or who is a former prisoner of war, with narrower classes for other veterans.

100% for full dental (Class IV). Full dental care needs a 100% schedular rating; individual unemployability and former POW status are other full-care paths, and narrower classes reach other veterans.

VA payment for treatment of a service-connected disability, and some associated conditions, while the veteran is outside the United States.

Service-connected condition. VA pays for a disability it has decided is service-connected, including a 0% rating, and for some associated conditions. There is no single combined-rating floor beyond that.

Enrollment in the VA health care system. A disability rating can change priority and copays. It is not the only way in.

Enrollment. No single combined-rating minimum applies to everyone. A rating can change priority group and copays. Other enrollment paths exist.

Two outpatient clinics, two Vet Centers, no VA medical center and no community-based outpatient clinic. Seventy-six percent of enrolled veterans here did not qualify for federal travel pay, the worst rate in any territory.

Ordinary VA health care enrollment. Eligibility and priority group follow the usual federal rules. A service-connected rating changes priority and copays rather than opening or closing the door.

Hearing aids, eyeglasses and contact lenses for an enrolled veteran with a compensable service-connected disability, a Purple Heart, former POW status, and other listed situations.

Compensable rating, or another listed path. A compensable (10% or more) service-connected rating is the most common path. Purple Heart, former POW and other listed paths have no rating floor.

The only VA health facility in a foreign country. It treats service-connected conditions, and VA's regulation also lets it treat other conditions of a veteran who has a service-connected disability, within the clinic's limits.

Service-connected condition. VA has to have rated at least one disability service-connected, including at 0%. The clinic treats that condition and conditions associated with and aggravating it, and 38 C.F.R. 17.35(b) lets it treat other conditions of that veteran within its limits.

Mental health care from VA, including free emergency suicidal crisis care for any veteran and most former service members, whatever the discharge or enrollment status.

Discharge and enrollment. Routine care follows VA health care enrollment. Emergency suicidal crisis care does not need enrollment or a qualifying discharge.

Artificial limbs, wheelchairs, home oxygen, orthotics, mobility aids and home medical equipment for an enrolled veteran who needs them, prescribed by a VA clinician.

Enrolled and prescribed. The veteran must be enrolled in VA health care and the item prescribed by a VA clinician.

Van Zandt County's veterans page lists a free shuttle for veterans from the county to the Dallas VA Medical Center, picking up at designated veteran parking on the east side of Duke's Travel Plaza, I-20 and Texas Highway 64; call 903-583-6496 to schedule a ride.

Veterans with appointments at the Dallas VA. For veterans who need a ride to the Dallas VA Medical Center. No rating is needed.

Dental care for a Vermont veteran with an honorable or general discharge who has no dental insurance and cannot pay out of pocket. A 100 percent service-connected rating makes a veteran ineligible, because VA already covers them.

A 100 percent service-connected rating makes a veteran ineligible. The program excludes a veteran with a 100 percent service-connected disability rating from VA, because that veteran already has comprehensive VA dental eligibility. This is the unusual case where a higher rating removes the benefit rather than granting it.

Skilled nursing, dementia care, and rehabilitation at Bennington for a veteran with 90 days of active duty and an honorable discharge, and for spouses and Gold Star parents. Since July 1, 2024 the Home may also serve Vermont veterans who do not live there.

Ninety days of active duty and a discharge under honorable conditions. The Home requires at least 90 days in the Armed Forces of the United States with a discharge under honorable conditions, with the 90 days waived for a discharge due to a line-of-duty disability. No disability rating gates admission, so the rating filter never hides this benefit.

Free, confidential counseling at community Vet Centers for combat veterans, service members, survivors and families, kept apart from the VA medical record and open without VA health care enrollment.

Combat theater or listed service. The service member or veteran must meet one of the 38 U.S.C. 1712A service descriptions. No rating or enrollment is needed.

The Veterans Assistance Commission of Will County drives veterans free to medical appointments, including Hines VA Hospital, VA clinics and specialists, giving priority to those without a car, unable to drive or without family help. Call 815-740-8389 as soon as the appointment is set.

Will County veterans with a medical appointment. Priority for veterans without transport. No rating is needed.

Tennessee's treatment court contacts list gives Anderson County only the 7th Judicial District Recovery Court (Kenneth Brown, Clinton, 865-264-6316) and no veterans track, but the county's own records show a Veterans Court Mentorship programme its Veterans Service Advisory Committee recruits mentors for, and a budget fund category named Opioid Veterans Court Funds.

A justice-involved veteran. The county records show a mentorship programme and a funding line, not a published eligibility rule; no rating is needed to ask.

A single state home at Buffalo offering assisted living and skilled nursing. Eligibility turns on need as much as service: an honorable discharge, a year of Wyoming residency, and being unable to earn a living or without adequate means of support.

Honorable discharge, a year of Wyoming residency, and a needs test. The gates are an honorable discharge, at least one year of Wyoming residency, and being unable to earn a living or without adequate means of support. That last condition is a needs test rather than a rating test, so the rating filter never hides this benefit.

Eight state veterans homes running independent living, assisted living, memory care, and skilled nursing. Admission needs an other-than-dishonorable discharge, eligibility for VA care, California residency at the time of application, medical insurance, and age 55, homelessness or a disability. A 70% or higher rating may move an applicant up the priority list.

Service, discharge, California residence, and need for care. Admission does not require a rating. A rating of 70% or more is a discretionary priority category under Military and Veterans Code section 1012, behind Medal of Honor recipients and former prisoners of war. The rating filter does not hide this benefit.

The Vigo County Veterans Treatment Court sits in Superior Court 1, fourth floor of the courthouse, on the 2nd and 4th Fridays of the month at 1:30 P.M. - a collaboration of the court, the VA, the public defender, prosecutors, probation and community corrections for veterans with substance dependency or mental illness, with volunteer mentors; the county's page carries the application, referral form, participant agreements and handbooks.

Veterans with pending charges in Vigo County. Eligibility is set by the court team; the handbooks and application are on the county page. No rating is needed to ask.

State care coordination and peer support for a Virginia veteran of any era and any discharge, and for family and caregivers, including post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injury.

State skilled-nursing, memory, and short-term rehabilitation care for an honorably discharged veteran who is a Virginia resident, or who entered service from Virginia, and who needs that level of care.

Honorable discharge and Virginia tie. Admission requires an honorable discharge, Virginia residency at admission or entry into service from Virginia, and a medical need for nursing, memory, or short-term rehabilitation care the center can provide.

Free rides for Warren County veterans and their dependents to any local doctor's office or VA medical centre, booked as soon as the appointment is made, with the DD-214 as proof of eligibility.

A county veteran or dependent with an appointment. A Warren County veteran or dependent with a medical appointment, and the DD-214. No rating is needed.

Warren County Veterans' Services drives veterans to and from the Stratton VA Medical Center in Albany on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, from the Human Services Building at Lake George or VFW Post 6196 in Queensbury at 8 a.m., for appointments between 9:30 and 2; book up to a year ahead, 518-761-6342.

Veterans with Albany VA appointments. Free; book through Veterans' Services with a discharge on file.

The Washington County Veterans Service Agency's bus picks veterans up at home or a set point and takes them to the Albany VA Medical Center on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays; call 518-746-2470 to book. Part-time county drivers run it, and the county added four per diem drivers in October 2025.

Veteran with an Albany VA appointment. For a Washington County veteran with an appointment at the Albany VA Medical Center on a service day. No rating is needed.

Washington County funds a veterans transportation programme through its Washington County Transportation Authority, at $81,690 for the 2026-2027 fiscal year out of the State Human Services Block Grant and Human Services Development Fund, with no county general funds required.

A Washington County veteran needing a ride. Funded from State human services money the county administers. No rating is needed.

Four state veterans homes, at Orting, Port Orchard, Spokane and Walla Walla, all Medicare and Medicaid certified. RCW 72.36.030 admits a Washington resident veteran with a qualifying discharge (honorable, general, or other than honorable with VA monetary benefits) or VA health care eligibility, the spouse or surviving spouse, and a parent whose child died in service.

Qualifying discharge or VA health care eligibility, and Washington residence. RCW 72.36.030 needs Washington residence when applying and a qualifying discharge under RCW 73.04.005 or VA health care eligibility, together with a need the home can meet. No disability rating is required for admission, so the rating filter never hides this benefit. A spouse, surviving spouse or parent whose child died in service may also be admitted.

A 120-bed skilled nursing facility at Clarksburg connected by breezeway to the VA medical center, with a second facility at Beckley under construction.

No disability rating required. Admission turns on residency and length of service rather than on a rating, so the rating filter never hides this entry.

Westchester's Dwyer peer support programme offers veterans and their families free, confidential peer groups, advocacy and help finding resources, from an office on North Broadway in White Plains.

Veterans and families. Free. No rating or discharge test is stated.