The short answer
Look at the gap first: some family members don't qualify for CHAMPVA, some Veterans aren't eligible for VA Community Care, and some needs fall outside an authorization. Options include VA care itself, Vet Centers, other insurance, sliding-scale care, and the ValorWell Foundation, which pays for treatment for Veterans and families that VA won't cover.
Where are the gaps in VA coverage?
VA covers a lot, but not everyone and not everything. Therapists who serve military-connected clients run into the same gaps over and over:
- Family members who don't qualify for CHAMPVA. CHAMPVA is limited to certain families of Veterans with a permanent and total service-connected disability, or who died from a service-connected condition. Many Veterans' spouses and children don't qualify. See 38 CFR 17.271.
- Veterans who don't qualify for VA Community Care. A Veteran may be eligible for VA care but not for outside care, because VA can meet its access standards internally. See VA's community care eligibility page.
- Veterans not enrolled in VA health care at all.
- Care outside an authorization, such as a service VA didn't approve.
- Adult children who have aged out of CHAMPVA.
What options exist for those clients?
Work through them in roughly this order:
- VA care itself. A Veteran who doesn't qualify for Community Care may still get therapy at a VA facility or by VA telehealth.
- Vet Centers. Free readjustment counseling for eligible Veterans, service members, and some family members, including bereavement services. See VA's Vet Center eligibility.
- Free MST care. VA provides free treatment for conditions related to military sexual trauma, even for many former service members who can't get other VA care.
- Other insurance. Employer coverage, Medicare, Medicaid, or a Marketplace plan.
- Sliding-scale and community programs.
- Charitable funding for Veterans and families, such as the ValorWell Foundation.
If a client is in crisis, the Veterans Crisis Line is free for Veterans, service members, and families, whatever their coverage: dial 988, then press 1.
How ValorWell handles this
The ValorWell Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charity that pays for treatment for Veterans and their families that VA won't cover. It's one of three ways ValorWell clients' care is paid for, alongside CHAMPVA and VA Community Care.
For therapists, that means some of your ValorWell clients may be funded by the Foundation. The rest of the model is the same: you make the clinical decisions, set your schedule and capacity, complete your notes, and are paid weekly for the sessions you documented. ValorWell handles the administration.
It also means the families who would otherwise fall through the gaps above have somewhere to turn.
Important limits
- Foundation funding is limited. It's charitable money, not insurance, and it can't cover every request.
- VA programs come first where they apply. If a client qualifies for CHAMPVA or VA Community Care, those programs are generally the right path.
- Eligibility for VA programs is VA's decision. Point clients to VA to check; don't assume they're ineligible.
- This page doesn't describe Foundation eligibility rules. Contact ValorWell for current details.