If you have a VA disability rating of 50% or higher, VA has found you unable to work because of a service-connected disability, or you received the Medal of Honor, VA health care puts you in Priority Group 1. That placement means zero copays on all your VA care, and that includes conditions that have nothing to do with your service. A knee you hurt skiing, a sinus infection, a prescription for blood pressure medication you developed at 55: in Group 1, VA treats it all without a copay.
What it is
When you enroll in VA health care, VA assigns you to one of eight priority groups based on your service history, disability rating, income, and a few other factors like Medicaid eligibility, according to VA's priority groups page. Your group determines how soon you can be enrolled and what, if anything, you pay out of pocket for care. Group 1 is the top tier. VA always assigns you to the highest group you qualify for, and your group can change over time if your rating or income changes. Group 1 members get full access to the VA medical benefits package with no copays for care or medications.
What it's worth
The value of Group 1 is everything you do not pay. Here is what enrolled Veterans in lower groups can owe under VA's 2026 copay rates, effective January 1, 2026, and what Group 1 pays instead.
| Type of care | What Groups 7 to 8 can pay | What Group 1 pays |
|---|---|---|
| Primary care visit | $15 per visit | $0 |
| Specialty care visit | $50 per visit | $0 |
| Specialty test | $50 per test | $0 |
| Inpatient care, first 90 days | $1,736 plus $10 per day in Group 8; Group 7 pays 20% of those rates | $0 |
| Medications, per 30-day supply | $5 to $11 depending on tier | $0 |
The medication exemption is the piece that sets Group 1 apart most clearly. Veterans with any service-connected rating of 10% or higher are already exempt from outpatient and inpatient copays under VA's copay rules. But Veterans in Groups 2 through 8 still pay medication copays of $5, $8, or $11 per 30-day supply depending on the drug tier, up to a $700 annual cap. In Group 1, VA states you will not pay a copay for any medications, including drugs for conditions unrelated to your service. If you fill several prescriptions a month, that difference compounds every single year.
There is a second layer of value beyond copays. Some Veterans in Group 1 use VA as their primary health coverage and skip buying a marketplace plan entirely, which turns a monthly premium into savings. VA notes on its Affordable Care Act page that the health care law does not change your VA health benefits or your out-of-pocket costs. Marketplace premiums vary widely by age, state, and plan, so we will not put a single number on it, but for many households it is the largest line item Group 1 makes optional. Whether dropping other coverage makes sense depends on your family's needs, since VA health care covers you, not your spouse or kids in most cases.
Group 1 also pairs well with VA travel pay. Under VA's travel reimbursement rules, a disability rating of 30% or higher is one of the qualifying criteria, so every Veteran who reached Group 1 through a 50% or higher rating clears that bar. File through the Beneficiary Travel Self-Service System within 30 days of each appointment.
Who qualifies (and who doesn't)
Per VA's priority group criteria, you are assigned to Priority Group 1 if any of these applies:
- You have a service-connected disability VA has rated as 50% or more disabling
- You have a service-connected disability VA has concluded makes you unable to work, which is the Individual Unemployability (TDIU) finding
- You received the Medal of Honor
Note what this means for TDIU: if VA pays you at the 100% rate through Individual Unemployability, you land in Group 1 even if your combined schedular rating is below 50%. The unemployability finding itself is what qualifies you.
Who does not qualify: Veterans with a combined rating below 50% who do not have a TDIU finding land in a lower priority group. A 30% or 40% rating typically places you in Group 2, and 10% or 20% in Group 3, per the same VA page. Those groups still receive VA care, and ratings of 10% or higher remain exempt from outpatient and inpatient copays, but they pay the medication copays that Group 1 avoids. Income-based groups further down face copays on care as well.
Your group is not permanent. If your combined rating increases to 50% or you are granted TDIU, VA moves you up. This is one more reason to know your exact combined rating, which follows VA math, not simple addition.
How to claim it
You do not apply for Priority Group 1 directly. VA assigns it automatically based on your records when you enroll in VA health care.
- If you are already enrolled in VA health care, you likely moved into Group 1 automatically when your qualifying rating or TDIU decision took effect. You can confirm your priority group by signing in at VA.gov or by calling VA at 877-222-8387.
- If you are not enrolled, apply at va.gov/health-care/apply. You can complete the application online, call 877-222-8387 for help by phone, mail a completed VA Form 10-10EZ to the Health Eligibility Center in Janesville, WI, or bring a signed 10-10EZ to any VA medical center.
- Have your information ready: Social Security numbers for you and your dependents, your DD214 and service history, any current insurance information, and your gross household income from the previous calendar year. VA says most applications process in less than one week.
- Once enrolled, check that your assigned group matches your rating. If VA has you in a lower group despite a 50% or higher rating or a TDIU grant, contact VA to have your record corrected.
Related benefits
Group 1 status flows directly from your disability rating, so the benefits around it matter just as much:
- VA disability pay rates for 2026 shows what your monthly compensation looks like at each rating level
- TDIU, Individual Unemployability explains the pathway that puts you in Group 1 even below a 50% combined rating
- Our disability calculator computes your exact combined rating using VA math, so you know precisely where you stand relative to the 50% line
What to do next
Start with your combined rating, since it decides your priority group. Run our disability calculator to see your exact VA-math combined percentage and what it pays. Then run your full benefits audit at benefitry.io/start. We scan over 4,000 federal and state benefits and show you every one you qualify for, with a dollar value and an official citation for each, so Priority Group 1 is just the first item on your list, not the last.