What you can do
- If someone is in immediate danger, call 911. If the crisis is mental health and you can reach VA, go to a VA emergency department or call the Veterans Crisis Line at 988, then press 1.
- For care at a non-VA emergency department, VA's rule is to notify VA within 72 hours. The current rule is on VA's emergency care page.
- 38 U.S.C. 1720J is the emergent suicide care law. It covers a veteran in an acute suicidal crisis, and it also covers some former service members described in 38 U.S.C. 1720I(b): a discharge that is not honorable, but is also not dishonorable and not a discharge by court-martial, plus the service or military sexual trauma conditions in that section.
- VA may start emergent suicide care before it finishes checking eligibility. Inpatient or residential crisis care is up to 30 days, and outpatient care is up to 90 days, unless VA extends it.
- Since 2017, VA medical centers have also offered an initial period of emergency mental health care for a former service member with an other than honorable administrative discharge who comes to a VA emergency department, urgent care, or Vet Center, or calls the Veterans Crisis Line. That episode can include inpatient, residential, or outpatient care while VA reviews the discharge. If VA later finds the person not eligible, VA can bill for the care.
Official pages
Related questions
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FAQs
Q: How quickly should we tell VA about a non-VA emergency room?
Within 72 hours. That is the rule on VA's emergency care page, updated December 4, 2025.
Q: Is a dishonorable discharge the same as other than honorable for this care?
No. A dishonorable discharge, or a discharge by court-martial, is a different kind of discharge. Do not treat it as the same as other than honorable.