The Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) Home and Improvements and Structural Alterations (HISA) grants help veterans and service members make medically necessary improvements and structural alterations to their primary residence. This includes improving the entrance or exit from their homes, restoring their access to the kitchen or bathroom, and making necessary repairs or upgrades to plumbing or electrical systems due to the installation of home medical equipment like a dialysis machine.

A lifetime HISA benefit is worth up to $6,800 for veterans who need a housing modification due to a service-connected condition. Veterans who rate 50 percent service-connected may receive the same amount even if a modification is needed due to a non-service-connected disability. Veterans who are not service-connected but are enrolled in the VA healthcare system can receive up to $2,000. 

HISA rates have not changed since Congress last adjusted them in 2010. Meanwhile, the cost of home modifications and labor has risen nearly 50 percent during the same timeframe.  

PVA Position: 

Congress must pass the Autonomy for Disabled Veterans Act (H.R. 2818/S. 3290), which would raise HISA rates to appropriate levels and tie them to a formula that raises rates annually to help keep them that way.