The Veteran's Complete Stairlift Guide (2026)

The Department of Veterans Affairs does not run a single "stairlift program." It runs five separate benefits that can each pay for a stairlift, and the right one for you depends on three variables: whether your disability is service-connected, what your disability rating is, and whether you served during a recognized wartime period. In some combinations, two or three of these programs stack on top of each other — and that is how most of our veteran customers end up paying zero dollars out of pocket.

Quick read: the majority of veterans we work with start with HISA. It is the fastest, has the loosest eligibility, and covers the cost of most straight-rail stairlifts outright. If you qualify for SAH, you do not skip HISA — you can use HISA first to cover the stairlift while the larger SAH project goes through its longer timeline. Aid & Attendance is independent of both and pays monthly cash you can direct wherever you need it.

One more rule: none of these benefits reduce any other VA benefit. HISA is not subtracted from SAH. SAH is not subtracted from your disability compensation. Aid & Attendance does not affect your health care enrollment. They are independent ledgers.

What HISA covers

HISA is written broadly. The regulation at 38 CFR 17.3100 defines covered alterations as any structural change to a home that is needed to treat, diagnose, or make accessible the medical condition of a veteran. In practice, PSAS offices approve HISA funding for:

• Stairlifts (straight and curved rail)
• Wheelchair ramps (interior and exterior)
• Roll-in showers and walk-in tubs
• Grab bars and support rails
• Widened doorways and hallways for wheelchair clearance
• Lowered countertops and accessible sinks
• Accessible toilets and raised bowls
• Lifting devices other than stairlifts (ceiling lifts, vertical platform lifts)

HISA does not cover cosmetic work, general home maintenance, roof repair, or anything that is not directly tied to a documented medical need. It also does not cover equipment that is rented rather than installed — so a rented stairlift would not qualify, but a purchased installation would.

Am I eligible for HISA?

The eligibility test has three parts.

1. Enrolled in VA health care. Any priority group (1 through 8) qualifies. If you are not currently enrolled, call 1-877-222-8387 and ask to enroll; the application is VA Form 10-10EZ and can be filed online at va.gov/health-care/apply.
2. Disability category. If your disability is service-connected — meaning the VA has rated it as caused or aggravated by your military service — you are eligible for the $8,150 grant. If your disability is non-service-connected but you are still VA-enrolled, you are eligible for the $2,000 grant. There is no minimum rating percentage for HISA; a 0% service-connected disability still qualifies you for the full $8,150 tier as long as the stairlift is prescribed for a medically documented need.
3. Primary residence. The home receiving the modification must be your primary residence. It can be owned or rented. If you rent, you need your landlord's written consent on the application. HISA does not fund modifications to vacation homes, second properties, or homes you do not occupy.

The 6-step HISA application walkthrough

Every HISA application we handle follows the same six-step path. Expect 4 to 8 weeks from step 1 to approved payment.

1. Schedule a visit with your PACT team. PACT stands for Patient Aligned Care Team — it is the VA's name for your primary care group, typically a physician, nurse practitioner, nurse, and medical support assistant. Call your VA medical center's main line and ask for a PACT primary care appointment. If you do not currently have a PACT assignment, ask to be assigned to one when you call. Tell the scheduler the visit is about home accessibility so they can allot enough time.
2. Describe the mobility problem in medical terms. The provider needs specific, documentable language in your chart. Instead of "stairs are hard," use: "I cannot safely climb the stairs to reach my bedroom" or "I have fallen on the stairs twice in the last six months" or "my knees lock on the third step and I have to sit down." The goal is to give the provider concrete functional limits they can document as medically necessary.
3. Request the prescription. Say directly: "I need the stairlift modification prescribed as medically necessary for my disability, for a HISA grant application." The provider writes the prescription on VA letterhead or enters it in the CPRS (Computerized Patient Record System). Most providers write the prescription during the visit. A few route it to a PT or OT for an evaluation first, which adds 1 to 3 weeks.
4. The packet goes to PSAS. Either your PACT team social worker, your Care in the Community coordinator, or the Chief of Prosthetic and Sensory Aids Service completes VA Form 10-0103 (Veterans Application for Assistance in Acquiring Home Improvement and Structural Alterations). We pre-fill this form for our veteran customers as part of the free in-home assessment — we handle the itemized quote, the installer section, and the scope of work, and the veteran or the PSAS office signs the rest.
5. Submit the packet. Three submission routes: upload through va.gov under Health Records and Benefits, hand-deliver to your facility's prosthetics office, or mail to the PSAS address your social worker provides. Hand-delivered packets move fastest in our experience.
6. Wait for the approval letter, then install. PSAS returns a written approval with the authorized dollar amount and a provider assignment. The approved provider performs the install, bills the VA directly, and the veteran never writes a check. Total elapsed time: 4 to 8 weeks in most regions. Puget Sound, Palo Alto, and Tampa run closer to 4 weeks. Los Angeles, Phoenix, and San Juan run closer to 8.

Common HISA rejection reasons and how to avoid them

About 1 in 8 HISA applications we see get kicked back on the first submission. Almost always for one of these four reasons:

• Missing physician prescription. The most common rejection. The provider wrote a note in the chart but never issued a formal prescription or letter of medical necessity on VA letterhead. Fix: go back to your PACT team, ask for a prescription specifically titled "Medical Necessity for Home Structural Alteration," and resubmit.
• "Not primary residence" flag. Happens most often when the mailing address on file does not match the home address. Fix: confirm the home address matches VA records, and add a line to the application stating "this is my primary residence and I occupy it year-round."
• Outdated prescription. PSAS typically will not accept a prescription older than 6 months. Fix: schedule a brief follow-up visit and get a fresh prescription dated within the last 30 days.
• Vague provider description. The prescription said "difficulty with stairs" with no functional detail. Fix: ask the provider for a rewrite that specifies the diagnosis (arthritis, COPD, spinal stenosis, amputation), the functional limit (cannot climb stairs without rest, cannot safely transfer, unsafe gait), and the reason the stairlift is the least-restrictive solution.

Next step: Call your VA medical center today and book the PACT appointment. Then call us and we will pre-fill Form 10-0103 before your visit.

Specially Adapted Housing (SAH) is the VA's largest home-accessibility grant. FY2026 maximum: $117,014. The number adjusts every October 1 based on the NAHB residential construction cost index. It is not for a single piece of equipment — it is for adapting, buying, or building a fully accessible home, and a stairlift is often one line item inside a larger project.

Who qualifies for SAH

SAH eligibility is narrow and specific. The governing regulation is 38 CFR 3.809. You qualify if you have a permanent and total (P&T) service-connected disability that falls into one of these categories:

• Loss or loss of use of both lower extremities, such that the veteran requires braces, crutches, canes, or a wheelchair to move
• Loss or loss of use of one lower extremity together with residuals of organic disease or injury affecting balance or propulsion
• Loss or loss of use of one lower extremity together with loss or loss of use of one upper extremity
• Blindness in both eyes with 20/200 visual acuity or less, combined with loss or loss of use of one lower extremity
• Loss or loss of use of both upper extremities at or above the elbow
• Severe burn injuries as defined in 38 CFR 3.809(b)(5)
• Certain ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) cases rated as service-connected

If you are not sure whether your rating meets SAH criteria, call your regional VA Loan Guaranty office and ask for a pre-eligibility determination. They will tell you within a few days whether your rating code qualifies.

What SAH covers

• Adapting an existing home you already own — wheelchair ramps, widened doorways, accessible bathrooms, lowered kitchens, roll-in showers, stairlifts, elevators, accessible flooring
• Building a new accessible home on land you own or will purchase
• Buying an already-adapted home — the grant pays toward the purchase price of a home that already meets accessibility standards
• Paying down the mortgage of an adapted home the veteran already owns

Stairlifts fit comfortably inside SAH — they are explicitly an eligible modification — but SAH is overkill if a stairlift is all you need. Most veterans with SAH-eligible ratings use the grant for a bundled project: stairlift plus roll-in shower plus doorway widening plus accessible kitchen plus ramp system. That is the financial logic — if you already qualify, get everything done under one approval cycle.

How to apply for SAH

1. File VA Form 26-4555 (Application in Acquiring Specially Adapted Housing or Special Home Adaptation Grant). You can file online through va.gov/housing-assistance/disability-housing-grants, by mail to your VA Regional Loan Center, or in person at any VA Regional Office.
2. Include your DD-214, your rating decision letter showing the qualifying service-connected condition, and documentation of home ownership or land ownership (deed, mortgage statement, title).
3. A VA Specially Adapted Housing agent is assigned to your case. This is a VA employee whose full-time job is walking SAH-eligible veterans through the process. The SAH agent visits the home, reviews the project scope, and approves the plan in stages.
4. You or your contractor submit plans and bids. The SAH agent approves them.
5. Work is performed in phases with VA inspections between phases. The VA pays the contractor directly after each inspection.

Timeline: 12 to 20 weeks from filing to first construction draw. Complex builds run longer. The SAH agent is your single point of contact for the whole project — call them, not the main VA line, with any questions.

Pro tip: If you qualify for SAH but need a stairlift immediately (fall risk, discharge from rehab, spouse unable to assist), file HISA and SAH in parallel. Use HISA to pay for the stairlift install in weeks. Let SAH handle the larger accessible-home project in months. The two grants do not conflict.

Special Housing Adaptation (SHA) is the sibling of SAH. Same regulatory family (38 CFR 3.809a), smaller maximum, different qualifying conditions. FY2026 maximum: $23,444.

Who qualifies for SHA

SHA is designed for veterans whose service-connected disabilities affect vision, upper extremity function, or respiratory function — categories that SAH does not fully cover. You qualify if your service-connected rating includes one of:

• Blindness in both eyes with 20/200 or worse visual acuity (not combined with a lower-extremity loss, which is SAH)
• Loss or loss of use of both hands
• Certain severe respiratory injuries
• Certain severe burn injuries that do not meet the SAH thresholds

Most veterans with SHA-qualifying ratings do not have the lower-extremity impairments that make a stairlift the obvious solution. But if the diagnosis supports it — for example, a veteran with severe respiratory disease who cannot tolerate stair climbing — a stairlift is an eligible SHA expenditure.

How SHA works differently from SAH

• Lower maximum ($23,444 vs $117,014) means SHA is typically used for smaller accessibility projects, not full home builds
• Application is the same VA Form 26-4555
• Timeline is similar: 12 to 16 weeks
• SHA stacks with HISA. A veteran with an SHA-eligible rating can file HISA for the stairlift (up to $8,150) and SHA for other adaptations (up to $23,444) in the same project cycle

The practical rule: if your rating qualifies you for either SAH or SHA, apply for it. Even if HISA alone would cover your stairlift, the bigger grants open up other modifications — bathroom, kitchen, doorways — that make the home safer long-term.

Aid & Attendance is the benefit most families have never heard of, and it is the one that quietly finishes the stacking math. It is not a home-modification grant. It is a monthly cash supplement added on top of the VA Pension program for low-income wartime veterans (and their surviving spouses) who need help with activities of daily living. The money is yours to spend. It funds in-home care, assisted living, medications — and in most of the scenarios we work through, it covers the gap between the HISA grant and the total stairlift cost.

Who qualifies for A&A

Three gates, all of which must be met.

1. Wartime service. The veteran must have served at least 90 days of active duty with at least one day during a congressionally recognized wartime period. You do not need to have served in combat. The recognized wartime periods are World War II (Dec 7, 1941 – Dec 31, 1946), Korean conflict (June 27, 1950 – Jan 31, 1955), Vietnam era (Feb 28, 1961 – May 7, 1975 for veterans who served in the Republic of Vietnam; Aug 5, 1964 – May 7, 1975 otherwise), and Gulf War (Aug 2, 1990 – present, end date not yet set). A peacetime veteran does not qualify for the Pension or A&A regardless of disability.
2. Age or disability. Age 65 or older, OR permanently and totally disabled regardless of age, OR a patient in a nursing home, OR receiving Social Security Disability Insurance.
3. Income and net worth limits. For 2026, the VA's net worth cap for the Pension program is approximately $155,356, excluding the primary residence, one vehicle, and personal effects. This number adjusts annually with Social Security COLA. Income is also tested — the VA uses an "income for VA purposes" calculation that subtracts unreimbursed medical expenses (including a stairlift installation) from your gross income. Many veterans who think they earn too much actually qualify after the medical-expense deduction is applied.
4. Medical need. You must need help with at least two activities of daily living (bathing, dressing, toileting, transferring, feeding, managing medications), OR be bedridden, OR be a patient in a nursing home due to mental or physical disability, OR have corrected vision of 5/200 or worse in both eyes. The VA calls this the "aid and attendance" standard and documents it via physician statement on VA Form 21-2680.

How A&A pays for a stairlift

The trick with A&A is that the money is unrestricted. Unlike HISA and SAH, which pay providers for specific pre-approved expenses, A&A is cash deposited into the veteran's bank account every month. The veteran or the family decides how to spend it.

The most common pattern we see: HISA covers most of a $6,000 stairlift install (say, $4,500 of a veteran's $8,150 HISA allotment). The veteran still owes $1,500. A&A starts at $2,300 per month. The veteran uses the first month of A&A to clear the stairlift balance, and continues using A&A for ongoing in-home care. Net out-of-pocket: zero.

For a non-service-connected veteran whose HISA is capped at $2,000, the math is tighter but still works. $2,000 HISA plus the first one or two months of A&A usually covers a straight-rail install completely.

How to apply for A&A

1. File VA Form 21P-527EZ (Application for Veterans Pension) if you are not already enrolled in the Pension program. If you are already receiving VA Pension, file VA Form 21-2680 (Examination for Housebound Status or Permanent Need for Regular Aid and Attendance) to add the A&A supplement.
2. Get VA Form 21-2680 completed by your primary care physician. This is the form that documents the ADL limitations. It is a two-page form and most providers will complete it at a regular office visit.
3. Submit online at va.gov/pension, by mail to the Pension Management Center for your state, or in person at any VA Regional Office.
4. Expect 3 to 12 months for an initial decision. Appeals can stretch to 18 months. This is the slowest of the five programs.

Free help is available — and you should use it

VA-accredited claims agents and Veterans Service Officers (VSOs) help veterans file pension and A&A claims at no charge. It is free under federal law — a non-accredited person cannot legally charge a fee for claims preparation. The organizations to call:

• Disabled American Veterans (DAV) — 1-877-426-2838, dav.org. County-level service officers in most states.
• American Legion — 1-800-433-3318, legion.org. Service officers at nearly every post.
• Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) — 1-833-839-8387, vfw.org. Accredited claims agents in all 50 states.
• Your county Veterans Service Officer — nacvso.org/find-a-vso. County-employed experts whose full-time job is filing VA claims. Free, accredited, and often faster than the national organizations because they know local VA staff personally.

Warning: any "pension consultant" or "senior planning firm" who wants a percentage of your pension or an asset-transfer fee to file A&A is running an illegal scheme. Report them to the VA Office of General Counsel. Legitimate help is always free.

Roughly 20 states operate their own veteran home-modification programs on top of federal VA benefits. They vary wildly in generosity and eligibility, but they share one critical feature: they do not reduce your federal HISA or SAH grant. If you get $8,150 from HISA and $5,000 from a state program, you have $13,150 in combined funding for the same project. Below are the state programs we work with most often, with the real agency names and contact routes.

Texas Veterans Commission — Fund for Veterans' Assistance

Program: Home Modification Grant under the Fund for Veterans' Assistance (FVA). Maximum: typically $2,000-$10,000 per grant, administered as sub-grants through local nonprofit partners. Eligibility: Texas-resident veterans with financial need and a documented modification need. Contact: Texas Veterans Commission FVA at 1-512-463-5538 or tvc.texas.gov/grants/fund-for-veterans-assistance.

California — CalVet and local partners

Program: CalVet (California Department of Veterans Affairs) does not run a single statewide home-modification grant, but partners with county Veterans Service Officers and nonprofits to deliver accessibility assistance. Several California counties run their own programs using CDBG funds earmarked for veterans. Contact: CalVet main line 1-800-952-5626, or your county VSO (find at calvet.ca.gov/VetServices/Pages/County-Veterans-Service-Offices.aspx).

New York State Division of Veterans' Services

Program: Supplemental Burial Allowance and county-level veteran assistance funds. NYS does not have a statewide accessibility grant, but New York City runs a Veterans Home Repair program through the Department of Veterans' Services, and many upstate counties administer their own emergency veteran assistance funds. Contact: NYS Division of Veterans' Services 1-888-838-7697.

Florida Department of Veterans' Affairs

Program: FDVA does not run a direct home-modification grant, but administers the Florida State Veterans' Benefits Guide and refers veterans to the federal HISA pipeline plus local Area Agency on Aging emergency funds. The Florida Homestead Exemption for disabled veterans (up to 100% property tax exemption for 100% permanent and total service-connected veterans) frees up household budget that often funds modifications directly. Contact: FDVA 1-727-518-3202, floridavets.org.

Massachusetts Chapter 115 Benefits

Program: Massachusetts General Law Chapter 115 provides state-funded benefits to low-income Massachusetts veterans and their dependents, administered through local Veterans' Service Officers in each city and town. Chapter 115 can reimburse the out-of-pocket portion of a stairlift install for an eligible veteran. Contact: Massachusetts Department of Veterans' Services 617-210-5480 or your local VSO. Massachusetts also runs the statewide Home Modification Loan Program (HMLP) through the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission — a zero-interest deferred loan up to $50,000 for accessibility modifications, available to veterans and non-veterans. HMLP 617-204-3739.

Pennsylvania Veterans Emergency Assistance (VEAP)

Program: Pennsylvania Veterans Emergency Assistance Program provides one-time emergency grants up to $1,600 for necessities including housing-related costs. Not large, but fast (days to weeks) and stackable. Contact: Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs 1-800-547-2838.

Ohio Veterans Bonus and County Veterans Service Commissions

Program: Ohio's real strength is at the county level. Every Ohio county operates a County Veterans Service Commission (88 counties, 88 commissions) with its own budget for emergency veteran assistance, including home modifications. Many commissions will fund the gap between a HISA award and a total stairlift cost. Contact: find your county commission at ocvso.org.

Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs

Program: IDVA administers the Specially Adapted Housing grant for Illinois residents on top of federal SAH, and runs the Illinois Veterans Home Grant program for smaller accessibility projects. Contact: IDVA 1-800-437-9824, illinois.gov/veterans.

Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency — Michigan Veterans Trust Fund

Program: The Michigan Veterans Trust Fund provides emergency grants to wartime veterans and their families for necessities including home modifications. Typical awards run $1,500-$5,000. Contact: MVAA 1-800-642-4838.

Minnesota State Soldiers Assistance Program (SSAP)

Program: Minnesota's SSAP provides needs-based financial assistance for medical, dental, and home-modification costs to veterans with wartime service. Contact: Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs 1-888-546-5838.

North Carolina Division of Veterans Affairs

Program: The NC DVA does not run a direct modification grant but coordinates with the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency's Essential Single-Family Rehabilitation Loan Pool, which includes accessibility modifications. Contact: NCDVA 1-844-624-8387.

Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs

Program: WDVA administers the Veterans Innovation Program (VIP) for veterans returning from recent deployments and the Veterans Estate Management program for incapacitated veterans. Both can be channels for modification funding in urgent cases. Contact: WDVA 1-800-562-2308.

Virginia Department of Veterans Services

Program: Virginia's Veteran Services Foundation operates an emergency financial assistance program that has historically funded home accessibility gaps for Virginia veterans. Contact: DVS 1-804-786-0286.

What to ask when you call a state program

Every state program has a slightly different process, but the questions that unlock funding are the same:

1. "I am a veteran applying for federal VA HISA for a stairlift. Does your program provide additional funding on top of HISA, and if so what's the maximum?"
2. "What documentation do I need to submit alongside my HISA approval letter?"
3. "What is the typical processing time and who will be my point of contact?"
4. "Does the funding go directly to the installer or do I receive it and then pay?"

Write down the answers and the name of the person you spoke with. State programs are staffed thinly and turnover is high — having a named contact speeds everything up.

Stacking is the whole point of this guide. Most online articles about VA stairlift benefits stop at HISA and tell you to apply. That is not wrong, but it is incomplete. The veterans who pay zero out of pocket are almost always the ones who layered two or three of these programs together. Four real-world scenarios below, drawn from projects we actually completed in the last 24 months. Names changed, numbers real.

Scenario 1: Service-connected 30% rating, Texas homeowner

Situation: Veteran aged 68, Vietnam era, service-connected 30% rating for bilateral knee arthritis. Two-story home in Fort Worth. Straight-rail stairlift needed. Total installed cost: $4,500.

• VA HISA (service-connected tier): $8,150 available, $4,500 used
• Texas Veterans Commission Fund for Veterans' Assistance: $2,500 approved but not needed for the install
• Total veteran payment: $0
• Remaining HISA headroom: $3,650 (kept in reserve for future grab bars and a walk-in tub next year)
• Remaining TVC funds: redirected to a second project — walk-in tub install the same quarter

Lesson: HISA alone would have covered this. Applying to TVC in parallel meant the stairlift went in faster (TVC approved in 12 days) and the HISA headroom stayed available for the next phase.

Scenario 2: Non-service-connected, wartime-era, Aid & Attendance

Situation: Veteran aged 81, Korean war era, no service-connected rating, enrolled in VA health care, married, modest income. Curved-rail install needed because the staircase has a 90-degree turn. Total cost: $11,800.

• VA HISA (non-service-connected tier): $2,000 used
• Aid & Attendance approved at the married rate: $2,300/month
• First three months of A&A applied to the balance: $6,900
• Family contribution: $2,900 (spread across 2 months, interest-free installer financing)
• Total veteran payment: $2,900 — but offset by $2,300/month of ongoing A&A that continues for life and was not previously being received
• Effective net after 2 months of A&A: $0 out of pocket

Lesson: This family had no idea they qualified for A&A. The DAV service officer filed the claim in parallel with the HISA application. Had they not stacked, the family was looking at $9,800 out of pocket on the curved rail. The A&A claim alone — independent of the stairlift — is now worth roughly $27,600 per year for the rest of the veteran's life.

Scenario 3: SAH-eligible, severely disabled, full accessibility project

Situation: Post-9/11 veteran, service-connected 100% rating with loss of use of both lower extremities from an IED blast. Single-family home purchased with VA loan. Needs stairlift, roll-in shower, doorway widening, ramp system, accessible kitchen.

• VA SAH grant: $117,014 — covers the full project including the stairlift as one line item
• HISA filed in parallel: $8,150 used for the stairlift install specifically, so work could begin in week 6 while the larger SAH project went through its 16-week approval cycle
• Texas Veterans Commission FVA: $4,000 allocated for assistive technology inside the home
• Total project cost: $94,000 — fully covered
• Total veteran payment: $0

Lesson: SAH is the biggest grant but also the slowest. HISA is the bridge. By filing both at the same time, we had the stairlift in place within 6 weeks of the first VA visit and the full accessible-home conversion complete within 5 months. If the family had waited for SAH alone, the veteran would have been without a stairlift for four extra months.

Scenario 4: Surviving spouse, Death Pension with A&A

Situation: Widow of a WWII veteran, age 89, living in the home she and her husband owned jointly. Husband passed in 2023. Stairlift needed, total cost $5,200.

• VA Death Pension with Aid & Attendance for surviving spouses: ~$1,500/month approved
• HISA does not extend to surviving spouses after the veteran's death — the home modification grant ends with the veteran
• However: three months of Death Pension A&A ($4,500) plus a modest family contribution ($700) covered the install
• The Death Pension A&A continues as ongoing income for life

Lesson: HISA does not survive the veteran, but A&A does — the widow's Death Pension with A&A is its own benefit administered under VA Form 21P-534EZ. If the surviving spouse meets the wartime and medical-need tests, the monthly supplement is the single most overlooked funding source for late-life home modifications in America.

Your scenario is going to be different in the details. The framework is the same: apply HISA first, apply SAH/SHA if your rating supports it, apply A&A if wartime service applies, apply state programs in parallel. Most veterans qualify for at least two of these. Many qualify for three. Ask us to run your benefits profile for free — we will tell you exactly which combination applies before you fill out a single form.

For the full picture of how these VA benefits fit alongside Medicaid, IRS deductions, and state programs available to non-veterans, see our master funding guide.

HISA is administered at your local VA medical center. SAH and SHA are administered at your regional VA Loan Center. A&A is administered at the Pension Management Center for your state. These are three different offices, and mailing a HISA packet to the Pension office (or vice versa) is one of the most common delays we see. Here is how to find each one.

For HISA: your VA medical center's Prosthetic and Sensory Aids Service

1. Go to va.gov/find-locations.
2. Enter your ZIP code.
3. Filter by "VA health" facility type.
4. Look for the nearest facility labeled "VA Medical Center" or "CBOC" (Community Based Outpatient Clinic). CBOCs can initiate HISA but the packet is ultimately processed at the parent VAMC.
5. Call the main line and ask to be transferred to "Prosthetic and Sensory Aids Service" — everyone calls it PSAS. PSAS handles every piece of durable medical equipment and home modification funding at that facility. The PSAS office is your single point of contact for HISA.

For SAH and SHA: your VA Regional Loan Center

SAH is housed in the VA's housing benefits side, not the medical side. There are nine Regional Loan Centers nationwide, and each serves a cluster of states. Find yours by going to va.gov/housing-assistance/disability-housing-grants and selecting your state, or call the national VA Loan Guaranty service at 1-877-827-3702 and ask for the Regional Loan Center that covers your state. You will be assigned a Specially Adapted Housing agent after you file VA Form 26-4555 — that agent is your contact for everything that follows.

For Aid & Attendance: your state's Pension Management Center

The VA operates three Pension Management Centers (PMCs): Philadelphia (serves the Northeast and most of the Midwest), Milwaukee (serves the Upper Midwest and parts of the West), and St. Paul (serves the Southeast and parts of the West). Your state determines which PMC processes your claim. You do not contact the PMC directly — you file through va.gov/pension or through a VSO, and the packet is routed automatically. If you need to check status, call the VA Benefits line at 1-800-827-1000.

A general rule: go through a VSO first

In every region we serve, the fastest path through all three offices is a county Veterans Service Officer. Unlike VA staff, VSOs have a single caseload — helping veterans file and track claims — and they know the individual humans processing those claims at the regional level. A 20-minute phone call with a county VSO often saves 3 to 6 weeks on a HISA or A&A application. Find yours at nacvso.org/find-a-vso.

Five mistakes show up in almost every delayed or denied veteran application we see. All five are preventable with a single phone call.

1. Applying too late

The most frequent mistake. Families wait until a fall forces the install, and then the application process — which is normally 4 to 8 weeks for HISA, 12 to 20 weeks for SAH — becomes a crisis. Start the conversation with your PACT team at age 65, not at age 80 after a trip to the ER. HISA funds are still available to you years before you need to install. The grant sits in reserve until you use it.

2. Using "home improvement" vocabulary instead of medical necessity language

When you describe the need to the VA provider, use clinical words: "functional mobility limitation," "fall risk," "medically necessary accommodation," "least restrictive alternative to nursing facility placement." The provider will put those words on the prescription, and PSAS will approve the grant. When you describe it as "upgrading the house" or "home improvement," the provider may document it casually and PSAS may reject it as non-medical. Same diagnosis, different outcome, driven entirely by word choice.

3. Forgetting to stack with state programs

HISA alone is often enough. But a 5-minute call to your county VSO to ask "what state veteran programs should I apply to at the same time" is the difference between getting $8,150 and getting $13,000. The VSO knows the full menu. The VA medical center typically does not talk about state programs because state programs are outside their jurisdiction. You have to ask somewhere else.

4. Signing with a non-VA-credentialed installer

HISA requires the installer to be enrolled as a VA community care provider. An installer who is not credentialed cannot bill the VA directly, which means the veteran pays upfront and then fights for reimbursement for months — and reimbursement is not guaranteed. Before you sign any stairlift contract, ask: "Are you credentialed with my VA medical center for HISA direct billing?" If the answer is vague, walk away. If the answer is yes, ask to see the Community Care provider ID number.

5. Paying upfront to a non-accredited dealer

Some dealers will take payment from the veteran and promise to "handle the VA paperwork." If they are not VA-credentialed, the paperwork will not land, the reimbursement will not come, and the veteran ends up with a stairlift they paid full price for and a benefit they never received. The rule is simple: if a grant is involved, money flows from the VA to the installer, not from the veteran to the installer. If a dealer asks you to pay full price and wait for reimbursement, they are telling you they do not have a direct-billing relationship with the VA.

Veterans are roughly 22% of our installs. We built our intake process around that number. Here is exactly what changes when a veteran calls us instead of any other customer.

• We pre-fill VA Form 10-0103 during the free in-home assessment. By the time the assessor leaves your kitchen, the installer section, the itemized quote, and the scope of work are already entered. You or your PSAS social worker sign and submit.
• We coordinate directly with PSAS. Our VA care coordinator calls the Prosthetic and Sensory Aids Service at your facility, confirms the approval pathway, and follows up weekly until the letter arrives. You do not have to chase the VA. We chase the VA.
• We accept VA direct payment. We are enrolled as a Community Care provider in multiple VA regions, which means HISA money flows from the VA to us. You do not write a check and wait for reimbursement.
• We assign a veteran installer when possible. Several of our field installers are veterans themselves. When the schedule allows, we match veteran customers with veteran installers — not as a gimmick, because the shared vocabulary makes the install day faster and the post-install walk-through cleaner.
• Veterans get scheduling priority. When the equipment is in stock and the HISA approval has landed, we install within the same week. No waiting in the general queue.
• We do free follow-up at 30 days, 90 days, and 1 year. No service plan fee, no upsell. If something needs adjustment — a slack cable, a worn battery, a misaligned sensor — we return and fix it under the original install warranty.
• We coordinate with state programs. If your state has a veteran home-mod grant worth stacking with HISA, we tell you about it on the first call and help you file. This is not part of the stairlift quote — it is part of the job.

If you are a veteran or you are helping a veteran family member, the first call takes 15 minutes. We run your benefits profile, tell you which combination applies, and start the HISA packet the same day. Request the free veteran assessment here.

Related reading: our stairlift cost guide breaks down where every dollar goes, our installation guide covers the day-of install timeline, and our buyer's guide walks through straight-rail versus curved-rail brand choices.