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Hampton VA Medical Center

 

Become a Patient

All Veterans are encouraged to enroll for care with the Hampton VA Medical Center. It costs nothing to enroll, and it may be one of the most important things you can do to assure your continued health and well-being.

There are many ways that you may qualify to receive top-notch VA health care. Eligibility for VA health care is dependent upon a number of variables, which may influence the final determination of the services for which you may qualify to receive. These factors include:

  • Nature of a Veteran's discharge from military service (e.g., honorable, other than honorable, dishonorable)
  • Length of service
  • VA service-connected disabilities; and- Income level.

For more information about VA health care eligibility, please visit the VA Health Care web page. To quickly and easily see if you are eligible for VA health care, visit the Do I Qualify for VA Health Care? web page and complete a short online questionnaire.

How to Enroll for VA Health Care

To receive VA health care, Veterans must first be enrolled with the VA health care system. You can apply for VA health care by one of the following three options:

  • You can enroll in person at any VA medical center or outpatient clinic throughout the Hampton VA Medical Center system including the Albemarle Primary Outpatient Clinic or Virginia Beach Community Based Outpatient Clinic. When enrolling in person, you will be asked to complete VA Form 10-10EZ - Application for Health Benefits. To help expedite the enrollment process, you are encouraged to take a copy of your discharge paperwork (Form DD 214) and information about your combined household finances when visiting a VA facility to enroll in person.
  • You can enroll electronically by completing the online VA Form 10-10EZ – Application for Health Benefits Health Care.
  • You can enroll by mail after completing VA Form 10-10EZ - Application for Health Benefits. To obtain a copy of VA Form 10-10EZ, you may visit any VA medical center or outpatient clinic.  Once completed, you can mail VA Form 10-10EZ to:

    Eligibility & Enrollment Center
    Hampton VA Medical Center
    100 Emancipation Drive
    Hampton, VA  23667

What Happens After the Enrollment Process?

Veterans who mail in their application or complete the online application will receive a letter from the VA regarding their enrollment and instructing them to contact their local VA facility to schedule their first appointment.  For additional information about the enrollment process for VA health care, please visit the VA Health Care web page.

VA Health Care Enrollment Priority Groups

Eight priority groups have been established to help ensure that VA resources are allocated to Veterans with the highest priority for VA care - with priority group 1 being the highest. Veterans in priority groups 7 and 8 are those individuals who have no service-connected disabilities or have a disability that is officially rated as “noncompensable zero percent service-connected,” and whose incomes are above the established VA thresholds. Priority groups 7 and 8 Veterans must agree to make co-payments for medical care and medications. Please note that Veterans who are applying for enrollment on or after January 17, 2003 who are assigned to priority group 8 may not be eligible for enrollment or care of their nonservice-connected conditions. For additional information about VA health care enrollment priority groups, please visit the VA Enrollment Priority Group web page.

Co-pays and Charges

There is no monthly premium required to use VA health care. Veterans may have to agree to pay some co-payments depending on their priority group and income level. If a Veteran has their own private health insurance, it may cover the cost of the co-payments. In addition, VA is required by law to bill private health insurance providers for the treatment of a Veteran’s nonservice-connected conditions. All Veterans applying for VA health care are required to provide information about their health insurance coverage, including the coverage provided under their spouses’ policy. Veterans with disability ratings for injury or disease incurred during military service receive most care without any cost. For more information about VA co-payments and charges, please visit the VA Co-pays and Charges web page.

Basic Eligibility

If you served in the active military, naval or air service and are separated under any condition other than dishonorable, you may qualify for VA health care benefits. Current and former members of the Reserves or National Guard who were called to active duty (other than for training only) by a federal order and completed the full period for which they were called or ordered to active duty may be eligible for VA health care as well.

Minimum Duty Requirements

Most Veterans who enlisted after September 7, 1980, or entered active duty after October 16, 1981, must have served 24 continuous months or the full period for which they were called to active duty in order to be eligible. This minimum duty requirement may not apply to Veterans who were discharged for a disability incurred or aggravated in the line of duty, discharged for a hardship, or received an "early out." Since there are a number of other exceptions to the minimum duty requirements, VA encourages all Veterans to apply in order to determine their enrollment eligibility.

Veterans Health Benefits Handbook

VA is producing a personalized "Veterans Health Benefits Handbook" for each Veteran enrolled in the VA health care system. The purpose of the handbook is to provide a current and accurate description of VA health care benefits and services. Your handbook will be tailored specifically to you with personal identifying information and should be safeguarded as you would any other sensitive personal document.

The "Veterans Health Benefits Handbook" includes:

  • Eligibility and health care benefits,
  • Contact information for your local facility,
  • Information regarding copayment responsibilities,
  • Instructions on how to schedule appointments,
  • Guidelines to communicate treatment needs,
  • Patient rights,
  • Ways to obtain copies of medical records, and
  • Other important information.

You will receive your personalized handbook via U.S. mail; therefore, you should have a current address on file with VA. Handbooks are mailed based on Priority Group, beginning with Priority Group 1 and ending with Priority Group 8. To see when you might receive your handbook, go to the distribution schedule. You may also call VA toll-free at 1-877-222-VETS (8387) if you need to update your address or receive additional information.

Veterans Health Benefits Guide and Health Care Benefits Overview

VA also publishes the "Veterans Health Benefits Guide" designed to provide general information about the VA Medical Benefits Package, and the "Health Care Benefits Overview" designed to provide the information Veterans need to understand VA's health care system, with answers to frequently asked questions about eligibility and benefits.

Both publications are available to you at the Hampton VA Medical Center, and can be downloaded at http://www.va.gov/healthbenefits/resources/epublications.asp.

These publications are very helpful, and we encourage you to refer to them whenever you have questions about your eligibility for specific health care benefits. Additional assistance is available at the following resources:

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