VA Foreign Medical Program (FMP)

How FMP works (38 U.S.C. 1724 and 38 CFR 17.35)

FMP is the mechanism VA uses to pay for medical care a veteran receives outside the United States and its territories. The statute begins with a default rule that VA shall not furnish hospital or domiciliary care outside any State, then carves out a narrow exception for service-connected care and for veterans participating in Chapter 31 Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E).

Two practical points follow from the statute:

• U.S. citizenship is not required. Eligibility turns on veteran status and a VA service-connected rating, not citizenship.
• U.S. territories are not "foreign." Care received in Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, or the Northern Mariana Islands is processed through standard VA health care or the Community Care program, not FMP.

Who qualifies

A veteran qualifies for FMP if all three conditions are met:

• The veteran has at least one VA-adjudicated service-connected disability rating (any percentage, including 0 percent compensable).
• The care sought is for the service-connected condition itself, for a condition that is adjunct to or aggravated by the service-connected condition, or is part of an active VR&E (Chapter 31) plan.
• The care is received outside the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the listed U.S. territories.

Veterans with zero service-connected ratings are not eligible. Dependents are not eligible under FMP; certain dependents of permanently and totally disabled veterans may have separate coverage under CHAMPVA, which has its own foreign-claim rules.

What is covered

FMP follows the scope of standard VA medical benefits, limited to service-connected conditions:

• Inpatient hospital care for a service-connected condition.
• Outpatient services, including specialist visits, lab work, and imaging.
• Durable medical equipment prescribed for the service-connected condition.
• Mental health care for a service-connected mental health condition.
• Prescription drugs that are FDA-approved (or the documented foreign equivalent) and prescribed for the service-connected condition.
• Emergency care, with no advance authorization required.

What is not covered

• Care for non-service-connected conditions, except the narrow Philippines exception described below.
• Care received inside the United States or any U.S. territory (those services are processed through standard VA channels).
• Routine preventive care unrelated to a service-connected condition.
• Cosmetic procedures.
• Long-term custodial nursing home care.
• Care provided by a family member, regardless of the family member's professional credentials.
• Experimental treatments or drugs not approved by the FDA or a recognized foreign equivalent.

How to register (VA Form 10-7959f-1)

VA published procedure: complete and submit VA Form 10-7959f-1, the Foreign Medical Program Registration Form. After processing, VA mails the veteran an FMP Benefits Letter that lists the service-connected conditions on file. The letter is what foreign providers use to confirm coverage before treating.

Registration may be done before or after care is received. Claims for service-connected care can be submitted retroactively, but providers generally prefer to see the Benefits Letter before treating.

Where to send the registration form:

• Mail: VHA Office of Community Care, Foreign Medical Program, PO Box 469061, Denver, CO 80246-9061, USA.
• Fax: 303-331-7803.
• Email: HAC.FMP@va.gov.

Form available at va.gov / Form 10-7959f-1.

How to file a claim (VA Form 10-7959f-2)

VA Form 10-7959f-2 is the FMP Claim Cover Sheet. Either the veteran or the foreign provider can submit it.

VA's published guidance lists the items each claim must include:

• Patient's full name, VA file or claim number, and current mailing address.
• Itemized billed charges with the date of each service.
• Provider name, professional credentials, address, and phone number.
• Diagnosis and a description of the services rendered.
• Receipts or proof of payment if the veteran paid out of pocket.

Documents in a language other than English do not have to be translated, though translations speed processing.

Form available at va.gov / Form 10-7959f-2.

Payment and reimbursement

• Allowable amount. VA reimburses the lesser of billed charges or the amount VA would pay under its own fee schedule for the same service in the United States.
• Currency. VA pays in U.S. dollars. If the veteran has a U.S. bank account on file, payment is made by ACH direct deposit. Otherwise, a U.S. Treasury check is mailed to the address on file.
• Direct provider billing. A foreign provider can bill VA directly; no pre-authorization is required. Alternatively, the veteran can pay the provider and seek reimbursement.
• No pre-authorization. FMP cannot issue advance coverage determinations. Veterans uncertain whether a particular service is covered can call the FMP office for an informal review before scheduling.

Country-specific rules

Prescription drugs

• FMP covers prescription drugs that are FDA-approved, or that are documented as the foreign equivalent of an FDA-approved medication, when prescribed for a service-connected condition.
• Over-the-counter medications are covered only when prescribed by a provider for a service-connected condition.
• VA does not mail prescriptions internationally through its mail-order pharmacy for veterans permanently residing abroad. The local foreign provider issues the prescription and the veteran fills it at a local pharmacy; the cost is claimed through FMP.
• Non-FDA-approved experimental medications are excluded.

Common denial reasons

Patterns reported by VA and by the U.S. Government Accountability Office in audits of the program:

• Service rendered for a non-service-connected condition. The single most common denial.
• Geography mismatch. Service was actually received in a U.S. territory or briefly inside the U.S. and routed to FMP by mistake.
• Missing or illegible itemization. Receipts without dates, provider credentials, or diagnostic detail.
• No FMP Benefits Letter on file. Provider could not confirm the service-connected link at the time of treatment.
• Drug not verifiable as FDA-equivalent. Foreign medication did not match a recognized FDA-approved product.
• Incomplete provider information. Missing credentials or address.
• Date outside the service-connected window. The service occurred before the effective date of the relevant service-connected rating.

Recent updates

• PACT Act of 2022 (Pub. L. 117-168). Did not change FMP rules directly. By expanding the list of presumptive service-connected conditions, the PACT Act effectively expanded the pool of conditions eligible for FMP reimbursement for veterans living abroad.
• 2025 GAO report (GAO-25-107149). Reviewed claim-processing timelines and direct-deposit infrastructure for non-U.S. banks, and recommended improvements.
• 2025 Panama provider fraud alert. VA suspended a cluster of providers in Panama for billing irregularities. Affected veterans retain access through other in-country providers.
• July 2026 system upgrade (announced). Per VA's provider-facing FMP page, a system change is targeted to enable direct deposit of FMP reimbursements to non-U.S. banks. Until then, veterans without a U.S. bank account receive U.S. Treasury checks.

Contact

Foreign Medical Program, VHA Office of Community Care

• Mail (veteran claims and registration): PO Box 469061, Denver, CO 80246-9061, USA.
• Mail (provider claims): PO Box 200, Spring City, PA 19475, USA.
• U.S. toll-free phone: 877-345-8179 (Mon-Fri, 8:05 a.m. to 6:45 p.m. Eastern).
• Provider line: 833-930-0816.
• Fax: 303-331-7803.
• Email: HAC.FMP@va.gov.

In-country toll-free numbers (current VA-published numbers):

Numbers are subject to change. Verify against VA's FMP program page before relying on them.

Source and currency

Statute: 38 U.S.C. § 1724 (Hospital care, medical services, and nursing home care abroad). Philippines-specific authority: 38 U.S.C. § 1734.

Regulation: 38 CFR 17.35 on eCFR.gov. The eCFR text is authoritative.

VA references: VA.gov FMP overview, Community Care FMP page, provider information page, Manila VA Outpatient Clinic.

Last reviewed: 2026-05-23.