What HISA pays for
HISA comes from the VA's Prosthetic and Sensory Aids Service, and it pays for medically necessary changes. Its list covers permanent ramps, roll-in showers, widened doorways and accessible counters, and also the plumbing and electrical that medical equipment needs.
Both amounts are lifetime caps. Once a veteran has used the $6,800 or the $2,000, a later project has to be paid some other way, so spend it on the change that matters most.
Who qualifies for a HISA grant
The veteran has to be enrolled in VA health care, and a VA physician has to prescribe the work. The request starts with the doctor, not with a contractor.
Get the HISA approval before anyone builds
The veteran sends the VA itemized bids from contractors, and the VA approves the work before it starts. Work done before written approval is not reimbursed. That holds even when it is the exact ramp the VA would have covered.
So the order matters more than speed. A ramp finished the week before the letter arrives is a ramp the VA owes nothing for.
Our part in a HISA request
We are not enrolled with the VA, and we do not file the request for you. Under HISA the veteran submits the contractor bids. After the Livability Assessment we write an itemized scope with a fixed price, line by line, that you can send in with the others.
We do not start any work the grant is meant to pay for until the approval letter is in your hands. A loose stair rail or a dark hall the VA is not covering can be fixed sooner, on its own written price, if you want it done now.
Questions about VA HISA grant
Can we build the ramp first and send the VA the bill?
No. The VA has to approve HISA work before it starts, and anything done before written approval is not reimbursed.
What does an itemized bid for HISA look like from you?
After the assessment you get a written scope that lists each part of the job, such as the ramp, the railings or the shower conversion, each with its own fixed price.
Services VA HISA grant can pay for
Where this comes from
Home Improvements and Structural Alterations (HISA), run by US Department of Veterans Affairs, Prosthetic and Sensory Aids Service. Current as of October 2026. VA HISA grant decides eligibility and amounts, so confirm its terms before you plan around it.