Does the VA pay for an outside doctor visit (like Kaiser) if I just want a second opinion?

As a general rule, the VA does not automatically pay for care you receive at an outside provider just because you want a second opinion or because you also have other health insurance. VA payment for non-VA care is tied to the VA Community Care Network (CCN) and the MISSION Act eligibility standards, not to your personal choice of provider. To have VA cover a visit to a facility like Kaiser, you typically need a formal referral and authorization from your VA facility before the appointment happens. This usually requires that you meet one of the MISSION Act access standards — for example, the VA cannot schedule you within the required drive-time or wait-time standards for that specific type of care, or the specific service isn't offered at your VA facility, or your primary VA provider agrees it is in your best medical interest to be seen in the community. If you go to Kaiser on your own initiative without that prior authorization, the VA will not reimburse the visit, and you would be responsible for billing it through your Kaiser coverage (copay, deductible, etc.) just like any other patient.

Being rated 100% permanent and total does not change this process. The 100% P&T rating affects things like priority group status, eligibility for CHAMPVA for dependents, and exemption from VA copays for care the VA itself provides — it does not automatically authorize outside care or guarantee VA payment at a non-VA facility.

If your goal is genuinely a second opinion on a specific medical issue, the better path is to raise it directly with your VA provider or patient advocate and ask whether the VA can refer you to an outside specialist through the Community Care program, or whether an in-house second opinion within the VA system is available. If approved before you are seen, VA Community Care will generally cover the visit similarly to how it covers primary VA care, subject to the usual authorization rules. If you go on your own without a referral, treat it as separate private care billed through Kaiser.

The concrete next step is to contact your VA primary care team or the VA patient advocate at Long Beach VA and explicitly request a Community Care referral for a second opinion before scheduling anything at Kaiser, so the authorization is in place beforehand.