Community care
Community care is healthcare the VA authorizes and pays for from civilian providers — opened by the MISSION Act's six criteria, including drive-time and wait-time standards, with copays matching what the same care would cost at a VA facility.
The VA, outside its own walls
When a VA facility can't deliver — the service doesn't exist there, access standards can't be met, or care elsewhere serves your medical interest — the VA authorizes a civilian provider in its network and pays directly. The six criteria govern entry; the key boundaries are that it's authorization-based (self-arranged civilian care isn't covered retroactively) and that prescriptions route back through VA pharmacy. The walk-in urgent care benefit is the one no-authorization exception, at in-network clinics only.
What community care is not: Medicare. It solves access problems inside the VA's system; Medicare covers everything outside it, unconditionally. Most veterans are best served treating them as complements, not substitutes.
You earned these benefits. Make them work together.
Whether you keep exactly what you have or add Medicare coverage alongside it, the right answer depends on your health, budget, and how you like to get care.
No cost, no obligation. You can also get help from Medicare.gov, 1-800-MEDICARE (TTY 1-877-486-2048), or your local SHIP office.