Do I Need a High VA Disability Rating Before VA Will Cover Eyeglasses?

The mix-up

Clinic rumor collapses several different sentences:

1. “You need 100% before VA pays for glasses.” The vision-care page does not write that percentage as the eyeglasses test.
2. “You need a service-connected eye rating.” Compensable service-connected disability is one path. VA's parenthetical is about receiving VA disability payments for a service-linked disability — not “only if the rated condition is the eye.”
3. Treating the covered eye exam as if the pair of glasses were included. VA answers those as two questions.
4. Copying the eyeglasses list onto hearing aids, or inventing a second rating threshold.

Exams are not glasses

From the vision-care page (last updated June 13, 2019): if you have VA health care benefits, VA will cover your routine eye exams and preventive vision testing (like testing for glaucoma). To schedule an eye exam, talk to your VA primary care provider or contact your nearest VA medical center or clinic.

That exam sentence is not the eyeglasses sentence. Confirm whether you have VA health care benefits on the live eligibility pages — this note does not rewrite Priority Groups. https://www.va.gov/health-care/eligibility/

The eyeglasses list VA actually publishes

VA then asks: will VA cover the cost of eyeglasses? VA will cover that cost if you meet at least one of the requirements listed. At least one of these must be true. You:

• Have a compensable service-connected disability (VA's parenthetical: a disability linked to your military service for which you're receiving VA disability payments), or
• Are a former prisoner of war (POW), or
• Were awarded a Purple Heart, or
• Receive benefits under Title 38 United States Code (U.S.C.) 1151, or
• Receive an increased pension based on your being permanently housebound and in need of regular aid and attendance

This note does not invent that a 0% evaluation qualifies or does not, beyond VA's “receiving VA disability payments” parenthetical. It does not invent which frames are free.

Or the illness, injury, and participation paths

Or, VA writes, you must have at least one of these issues. The list on the live page:

• Vision problems caused by an illness — or the treatment of an illness — for which you are receiving VA care, like stroke; diabetes; multiple sclerosis; vascular disease (diseases that affect your blood vessels); geriatric chronic illnesses (long-lasting illnesses that affect the elderly)
• Vision problems caused by an injury — or the treatment of an injury — for which you are receiving VA care, like a reaction to prescribed medicines; cataract surgery or other surgeries of the eye, ear, or brain; traumatic brain injury or polytrauma (injuries to more than one body part or organ, often caused by a blast)
• Functional impairment (parts of your body that don't work as well as they should) or cognitive impairment (a problem with memory or thinking skills) that's severe enough to make it hard for you to do everyday tasks
• Vision and/or hearing loss (called dual sensory impairment) that's severe enough to interfere with your ability to take an active role in your own health care — and eyeglasses would help to reduce the impact of your impairment

For more information, contact the prosthetic representative at your nearest VA medical center or clinic. https://www.va.gov/find-locations/

Hearing aids are a different page

The same vision-care page asks, separately, whether VA will cover hearing aids if you have vision and hearing loss, and it points readers to VA hearing-aid information. Do not invent a second rating threshold from this eyeglasses list. Confirm the live hearing-aids page VA publishes. One current VA write-up is the Prosthetic & Sensory Aids Service page: https://www.prosthetics.va.gov/psas/hearing_aids.asp

What this note is not

• Not a 100% rule, and not an invented vision-rating rule.
• Not a decision that 0% does or does not qualify, beyond VA's “receiving VA disability payments” parenthetical.
• Not a list of free frames or lens upgrades.
• Not a rewrite of VA health-care Priority Groups.
• Not a second rating threshold for hearing aids.
• Not accredited representation; independent of VA; no guaranteed outcome.

Sources

• VA.gov — VA vision care (last updated June 13, 2019)
• VA Prosthetic & Sensory Aids Service — Hearing Aids
• VA.gov — Find a VA location
• VA.gov — VA health care eligibility
• VA — Get help from an accredited representative
• Internal: /blog/va-accredited-representative

Quick answers

Educational only. Not a VSO, attorney, or claims agent. Not affiliated with VA. No guaranteed outcome. Confirm the live VA.gov vision-care page (last updated June 13, 2019 on that page) before you act. This article does not invent ratings, frame coverage, Priority Groups, or eligibility outcomes.