What health services are available to veterans with MS?

A number of health services are available for veterans with multiple sclerosis (MS):

• The Paralyzed Veterans of America, founded in 1946, is a congressionally chartered veterans service organization. Veterans with MS are eligible for many services through this organization, beginning with its Prosthetic and Sensory Aids Service.
• The Home Improvements and Structural Alterations program  will pay for home alterations for a service­connected disability and is a lifetime benefit for veterans.
• The Specially Adaptive Housing grant assists with making a veteran’s home wheelchair-­accessible.
• For specific losses of hand mobility and blindness, there is the Special Housing Adaptations grant.
• The National VA Caregiver Support Hotline is available for caregivers and family members dealing with chronic illness.
• Anyone with MS can benefit from free, monthly conference calls and learn firsthand about MS from experts and other healthcare professionals. A variety of educational topics are discussed.
• Anyone interested in receiving free DVDs can learn about MS in the privacy of his or her own home. Some of the topics offered are: “Modifiable Risk Factors,” “Staying Mobile With MS” and “MS Cognition and Brain Imaging.”
• Medical care for eligible veterans with MS includes disease-­modifying therapies, physical and occupational therapy, other healthcare services and medical equipment. The VA has led the way in rehabilitation medicine, and these services are available to veterans with MS.

To enroll, go to: www.va.gov/healthbenefits, or call the VA.

Veterans with symptoms of MS in the military or within seven years after honorable discharge may be eligible for service­-connected disability.