If you have (or can get) both Medicare and Veterans’ benefits, you can get treatment under either program. Generally, Medicare and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) can’t pay for the same service or items. Medicare pays for Medicare-covered services or items. The VA pays for VA-authorized services or items. Each time you get health care or see a doctor, you must choose which benefits to use.

For the VA to pay for services, you must go to a VA facility or have the VA authorize services in a non-VA facility.

If the VA authorizes services in a non-VA hospital but didn’t authorize all of the services you get during your hospital stay, then Medicare may pay for any Medicare-covered services the VA didn’t authorize.