When you enroll in VA health care, VA assigns you to 1 of 8 priority groups — and your group can decide how much (if anything) you pay toward your care. VA's own page is long prose; this tool asks four questions and hands you your group with the exact VA rule quoted.
Estimate from VA's published assignment rules — VA makes the official assignment when it processes your enrollment. VA's tie-break rule: "If you qualify for more than one priority group, we'll assign you to the highest one." Not legal advice; VetAid is not VA-accredited.
Source: VA.gov — VA priority groups and how they affect you. All rules and quotes on this page were taken from that page. Checked 2026-08-16.
Moving from 40% to 50% moves you from group 2 to group 1. VetAid's AI reads your conditions and C&P exams and flags under-rated conditions and missed secondaries.
Analyze my claim free →| Group | You may be assigned here if… |
|---|---|
| Group 1 | You have a service-connected disability rated 50% or more disabling; or VA concluded your service-connected disability makes you unable to work (unemployable); or you received the Medal of Honor. |
| Group 2 | You have a service-connected disability rated 30% or 40% disabling. |
| Group 3 | You're a former POW; or you received the Purple Heart; or you were discharged for a disability caused by — or worsened by — active-duty service; or you have a service-connected disability rated 10% or 20%; or you have special eligibility under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 (disabled by VA treatment or vocational rehabilitation). |
| Group 4 | You receive VA aid and attendance or housebound benefits; or VA has determined you're catastrophically disabled. |
| Group 5 | You have no service-connected disability, or a non-compensable 0% rating, and your annual income is below VA's adjusted income limits for your zip code; or you receive VA pension; or you're eligible for Medicaid. |
| Group 6 | You have a compensable 0% service-connected rating; or Project 112/SHAD; or WWII service (Dec 7, 1941 – Dec 31, 1946); or Persian Gulf War service (Aug 2, 1990 – Nov 11, 1998); or 30+ days at Camp Lejeune (Aug 1, 1953 – Dec 31, 1987); or combat-theater service after Nov 11, 1998 with discharge on/after Oct 1, 2013 (10 years of enhanced eligibility from discharge); or toxic exposure (TERA, listed Gulf/post-9/11 duty stations, listed operations, ionizing radiation, or Agent Orange locations). |
| Group 7 | Your gross household income is below the geographically adjusted income limit (GMT) for where you live, and you agree to pay copays. |
| Group 8 | Your gross household income is above VA income limits and geographically adjusted limits, and you agree to pay copays. Enrollment then depends on your subpriority group: a/b/c/d are eligible (0%-rated or no-SC Veterans who enrolled before Jan 16, 2003 and stayed enrolled, or who enrolled on/after June 15, 2009 with income within 10% of the limits); e and g are not eligible to enroll (group e is treated for the service-connected condition only). |
VA assigns your group from: your military service history, your disability rating, your income level, whether you qualify for Medicaid, and other benefits you receive (like VA pension). Veterans with service-connected disabilities get the highest priority; the lowest goes to Veterans with higher income and no compensable service-connected disability. If you qualify for more than one group, VA assigns the highest.
Crossing 50% moves you from group 2 to group 1 — and changes far more than health care. See exactly what changes between a 40% and 50% rating, and check your math with the combined rating calculator — combined values ending in 5 round up.
Group 1 — along with Veterans VA concluded are unemployable due to service-connected disability, and Medal of Honor recipients.
Group 2. That's the whole rule — a service-connected disability rated 30% or 40% disabling.
Group 3, shared with former POWs, Purple Heart recipients, Veterans discharged for a service-caused disability, and 38 U.S.C. § 1151 special-eligibility Veterans.
Receive VA aid and attendance or housebound benefits, or have a VA determination of being catastrophically disabled.
VA assigns you to the highest one you qualify for (group 1 is highest).
Yes — if your income changes, or your service-connected disability worsens and VA raises your rating. Combat Veterans in the 10-year enhanced window of group 6 are reassigned to their highest qualifying group when it ends.