VA and DOD announce updates to improve Veteran and caregiver access to installations

WASHINGTON — Today, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense (DOD) announced an improved installation access process for Veterans and eligible caregivers for medical appointments, shopping, and certain morale, welfare, and recreation (MWR) services. Veteran and caregiver eligibility will now be electronically verified during the installation access process.

Eligible Veterans who do not have a VA-issued Veteran Health Identification Card (VHIC), as well as eligible caregivers, can enroll for installation access at the visitor center using their REAL ID Act-compliant driver’s license or non-driver’s identification card. Starting Nov. 1, 2024, Veterans without a VHIC, as well as eligible caregivers, no longer need to present a VA-issued caregiver patronage letter, VA-issued service-connected disability letter, or VA Health Eligibility Center Form H623A to enroll for installation access.  

These updates reflect VA, DOD, and the Biden-Harris Administration’s ongoing commitment to expand and improve care and benefits for those who served.

“DOD installations provide numerous benefits and critical services to our nation’s Veterans, including health care,” said VA Deputy Secretary Tanya Bradsher. “We are grateful for our partnership with DOD and the ability to implement these updates to make military installation access easier for Veterans and their caregivers.”

“Our Veterans and their caregivers deserve a smooth experience in accessing installations,” said Ashish S. Vazirani, who is performing the duties of Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness. “We are glad to work with the Department of Veterans Affairs on this initiative and look forward to continuing to welcome eligible Veterans and VA caregivers to military exchanges and commissaries, and at eligible facilities like golf courses, movie theaters and clubs.”

To enroll for reoccurring installation access, eligible Veterans and caregivers must establish identity, fitness, and purpose on their first visit to each DOD installation they wish to access at the visitor’s center. As part of enrollment, they must:

1. Present an acceptable credential VHIC or REAL ID to establish identity.
2. Undergo an on-the-spot criminal record and terrorism check to establish fitness.
3. Have their eligibility for on-installation benefits verified electronically to establish purpose. If purpose is for health care, and the DOD installation does not have a commissary, exchange, or authorized MWR service, then proof of appointment will need to be provided.

Following enrollment, the Veteran or eligible caregivers can access the installation by presenting the same VHIC or REAL ID they enrolled with to gain access at the installation gate. Enrollment is typically valid for one to three years, or one year after the last visit to the given installation. If a patron’s VHIC or REAL ID expires, they will need to reenroll with their new VHIC or REAL ID. Termination of a patron’s eligibility will automatically result in the termination of installation access enrollment.

Veterans who do not have a VHIC and eligible caregivers will still need to provide a hard copy letter (a VA-issued caregiver patronage letter, VA-issued service-connected disability letter, or a VA Health Eligibility Center Form H623A) to show eligibility to the commissary, exchange, or authorized MWR services, as these facilities cannot electronically verify eligibility. Currently — for purposes of MWR, commissary, and exchange shopping — eligible caregivers are those who are approved and designated as a primary family caregiver of an eligible Veteran under VA’s Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers.

Recently, VA and DOD’s continued partnership has increased health care access for Veterans in Alabama, the Gulf Coast and Tampa regions of Florida, Kentucky, New York’s Hudson Valley, Tennessee, and Virginia.

Learn more about commissary and exchange privileges for Veterans. Veterans with additional questions are encouraged to contact their local installation for further assistance or visit www.militaryonesource.mil.