Temporary 100% rating for a hospital stay over 21 days
A long stay for a service-connected condition can raise your pay to 100 percent while you are in.
What it is
If a service-connected condition puts you in the hospital for a long stay, VA can raise your compensation to the 100 percent rate for that period. It goes back to your regular rating after you are discharged (38 CFR 4.29).
Who qualifies
VA says you qualify if you spent more than 21 days in a VA hospital or another approved hospital for a service-connected disability, or you were under hospital observation for more than 21 days at VA's expense for a service-connected disability.
How it works
Under 38 CFR 4.29, the 100 percent rating starts on the first day of the continuous hospital stay and ends on the last day of the month you are discharged. VA's example: a Veteran rated 40 percent for diabetes was in the hospital 25 days, got a temporary 100 percent rating for that time, then went back to 40 percent.
If you need recovery time afterward, the rule allows the total rating to continue for 1, 2 or 3 more months. See Temporary 100% after surgery or a cast for that.
Hospital stay
How to get it
- File a claim with VA online, by mail, in person, or with help from a trained professional. Start at How to file a VA disability claim.
- If you were in a hospital outside VA, send the hospital discharge summary. VA says it must show how long you stayed and why.
Traps
- The stay must be for a service-connected condition.
- Leaving the hospital during a stay can break it. 38 CFR 4.29 says an authorized absence of more than 4 days during the first 21 days counts as a discharge. After 21 days, an absence of more than 14 days, or a third 14-day absence in a row, interrupts the rating.
Where to call and where to go
Phone
- VA benefits hotline, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. ET: 1-800-827-1000 (TTY: 711). Source: VA regional benefit office page and Helpful VA phone numbers
- Veterans Crisis Line, 24/7: 988, then select 1. Source: Helpful VA phone numbers
Official pages
Free accredited help
- Find an accredited representative (attorney, claims agent or Veterans Service Organization representative). VA says VSO representatives are always free.