Dispute your VA copay charges

You can start the process in any of these ways:

• By phone: Contact us at 866-400-1238 (TTY: 711). We’re here Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET. We can help guide you through the process and provide you with the forms you’ll need if you’d like to get legal representation.
• By mail or in person: Write a letter explaining why you think the copay charges or balance amount may not be correct. Mail the letter, or bring it in person, to the business office or health administration office at your nearest VA medical center. If you send your dispute by mail, please include “Billing Dispute” on the mailing envelope.
  Find the address for your nearest VA medical center

This depends on when we receive your dispute.

If we receive your dispute within 90 days from the date the charges first appeared on your billing statement, we won’t start any collection action until we’ve resolved your dispute.

If we don’t receive your dispute within 90 days, we may offset other VA benefits you may receive. This means we may reduce or withhold part of your VA benefits (like disability compensation, GI Bill payments, or Veterans Pension payments) to pay your copay debt. We’ll continue with that process while we’re reviewing your dispute. If we resolve the dispute in your favor, we’ll remove all late charges from your account and pay you back any money withheld from your VA benefits. 

If we don’t receive your dispute within 120 days, we may transfer your debt to the U.S. Treasury for further collection action.

Learn more about the collection process

Yes. You can choose to have legal representation for all VA payment disputes.

You have 2 options for getting legal representation: 

• You can work with a Veteran service organization (VSO) or other VA-recognized service organization for no charge, or
• You can hire an attorney or a VA-accredited agent (a trusted professional who’s trained and certified in our processes) for a fee

To find an accredited representative or VSO:

• Go to eBenefits to find a local representative (including a recognized VSO, an attorney, or a claims agent) by state/territory, zip code, or the organization’s name. 
• Or search the VA Office of the General Counsel’s list to find VA-recognized organizations and VA-accredited individuals by name, city, state, or zip code.

If you choose to hire an attorney or accredited agent for a fee, you’ll need to send a copy of the agreement of payment to us at:

Counsel to the Chairman (01C3)
Board of Veterans’ Appeals 
810 Vermont Avenue NW 
Washington, D.C. 20420