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VA Community Care

VA community care lets eligible veterans see local providers. Here's when it applies.

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Key takeaways

  1. Six routes. Including access standards.

  2. 30 min/20 days. Primary, mental health, home care.

  3. 60 min/28 days. Specialty care.

  4. Ask VA first. Authorization is required.

For rural or homebound veterans, community care can mean getting care close to home.

Who qualifies

  • No VA facility offers the care. 1
  • No full-service VA medical facility in the state. 1
  • VA can't meet access standards. 1
  • It's in the veteran's best medical interest, or a VA service line misses quality standards1.

VA's own examples

  • A service VA doesn't offer, such as maternity or IVF care2.
  • Quality: VA finds the local cardiology service doesn't meet its quality standards2.
  • Wait time: primary care or mental health with no appointment within 20 days, even if the drive is short2.
  • Prescriptions from an urgent care visit can be filled at an in-network community pharmacy3.

For emergencies, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room3.

Urgent care without a referral

  • Who: veterans enrolled in VA health care who received VA or in-network care in the past 24 months; family members can't use the benefit3.
  • No referral needed at in-network urgent care centers and walk-in retail clinics3.
  • Don't pay at the visit. VA bills any copay later; it's $30 in some cases, depending on priority group and visits that year3.
  • Confirm the clinic is in network. By law VA can't pay out-of-network urgent care claims3.
  • Bring a photo ID and the VA urgent care billing card.
  • Travel: eligible veterans are repaid one-way mileage for unscheduled urgent care3.

Who qualifies

A veteran must be enrolled in or eligible for VA health care and have approval from the VA care team before seeing a community provider, except in cases such as urgent or emergency care2. At least one of these must also be true2:

  • VA doesn't offer the service at any facility.
  • No full-service VA facility in the state or territory (Alaska, Hawaii, New Hampshire and several territories).
  • Drive or wait time is too long, under the access standards below.
  • It's in the veteran's best medical interest, as the veteran and VA provider agree.
  • VA can't meet its quality standards for that service.
  • Grandfathered 40-mile eligibility as of June 6, 2018, in Alaska, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota or Wyoming.

Drive and wait time standards

VA community care access standards
CareAverage drive timeWait time
Primary care, mental health, extended outpatient care30 minutes20 days
Specialty care60 minutes28 days

Source: VA community care eligibility page2.

Worked example

A veteran in a rural county needs a cardiology appointment. The nearest VA cardiology clinic is a 75-minute average drive. Because that exceeds the 60-minute specialty standard, he’s eligible for an in-network community cardiologist even if VA could see him within 28 days2. VA must approve the referral first2. He may also qualify for travel pay for the community appointment, with proof of attendance4.

Step by step

  1. Ask your VA provider whether you meet a community care standard2.
  2. Get the referral approved before the appointment2.
  3. Use an in-network provider.
  4. If denied, file a clinical appeal, reviewed by the facility's chief medical officer or a designee2.

Common mistakes

  • Booking a community provider before VA approves, which can leave you with the bill2.
  • Not mentioning hardship. Medical issues that make travel hard, such as nausea from cancer treatment, can make community care your best medical interest2.
  • Forgetting you can still choose VA. Community care is optional2.

Community care and long-term care

Respite from a community agency or nursing home also requires community care eligibility5. See VA long-term care and home care.

Getting free help

FAQs

Families also ask

Short answers based on VA and state rules.

  • 30 minutes for primary care, 60 for specialty7.

Learn more

Related VA guides

All VA benefits guides
References

Sources

  1. eCFR, Title 38. 38 CFR 17.4010: Veteran eligibility (Veterans Community Care Program). Accessed October 22, 2026.
  2. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Eligibility for community care outside VA. Accessed October 22, 2026.
  3. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Getting urgent care at VA or in-network community providers. Accessed October 22, 2026.
  4. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. File and manage travel reimbursement claims. Accessed October 22, 2026.
  5. VA Geriatrics and Extended Care. Respite Care. Accessed October 22, 2026.
  6. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Get help from a VA accredited representative or VSO. Accessed October 22, 2026.
  7. eCFR, Title 38. 38 CFR 17.4040: Designated access standards. Accessed October 22, 2026.
About this article

Written by

WeFoundCare Editorial Team

Senior care research and editing

We research senior care programs from official sources and explain them in plain language. We are not a VA-accredited representative.

We write from VA rules, federal regulations and official state sources, and cite every figure with its effective date. Cost figures are statewide public figures, never a quote for any facility. We don’t accept payment to feature or rank communities. Our editorial standards · How we get our data

Photos: Cloud11 on Pixabay (Pixabay Content License).

This article is general information, not legal, medical or financial advice. WeFoundCare is not a VA-accredited representative and cannot help file claims. Free help is available from accredited Veterans Service Organizations and county veteran service officers.