Getting emergency care at non-VA facilities
During a medical or mental health emergency, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) encourages Veterans to seek immediate medical attention without delay. Veterans do not need to check with VA before calling for an ambulance or going to an emergency department. In most instances eligible Veterans are able to receive VA authorized emergency care at an in-network facility if VA is notified of the emergent event within 72 hours of the start of care
Ask the provider to notify us right away in either of these ways:
- Through our VA emergency care reporting portal, or
- By calling us at 844-724-7842 (TTY: 711)
We must get the notification within 72 hours of when your emergency care starts. We prefer that the provider notify us. But if they don’t, you or someone acting on your behalf can notify us instead.
You, or someone acting on your behalf, can also report the emergency treatment to VA. VA should only be notified once and ideally that notification is from the community emergency facility where treatment is being conducted. If you have an urgent or emergent need to coordinate care or transfer to a VAMC, contact the G.V. (Sonny) Montgomery VAMC immediately.
Notifying VA of an emergency event allows covered Veterans to have their emergency treatment authorized by VA. Failure to report emergency care to VA within 72 hours of the start of the emergency treatment may impact your eligibility for VA to cover the cost of treatment. However, even if the notification to VA did not occur timely, the emergency treatment may still be eligible for VA reimbursement.
To learn more, visit Getting Emergency Care At Non-VA Facilities | Veterans Affairs
