US Dept. of Veterans Affairs Health Benefits Hotline

Phone Number & Getting a Rep

US Dept. of Veterans Affairs Health Benefits Hotline number

877-222-8387
Toll-free·Calls Health Benefits Hotline·See main phone number & contact info
Q:

How do I talk to a human at this US Dept. of Veterans Affairs number?

A:Direct to a human
Q:

Does this phone number work 24/7?

A:No. Hours for this phone number are Mon-Fri 8am-8pm EST. The least busy day is Thursday, and the most busy day is Tuesday. See below for more and to learn where this data comes from.
Q:

How long will I have to wait to speak to US Dept. of Veterans Affairs Health Benefits Hotline?

A:The average hold time is 3 minutes. The longest hold times are on Tuesday, and the shortest are on Monday.

All US Dept. of Veterans Affairs customer service contact information

This is the #5 most popular US Dept. of Veterans Affairs phone number out of 6. Click above to go back to the main customer service number and other contact information, including US Dept. of Veterans Affairs email addresses, twitter handles, and live chat options.

More US Dept. of Veterans Affairs Customer Phone Numbers

Main Information Line

800-698-2411
Main phone number · Toll-free · 24 hours, 7 days · Direct to a human · If you are having thoughts of suicide, press 7. Homeless helpline, press 6. Pack Act main menu, press 8.

Benefits Hotline

800-827-1000
Toll-free · Mon-Fri 8am-9pm EST · Press 1, then 0, then 4, then 2 · Check the status of the claim, press 8.

Debt Management

800-827-0648
Toll-free · Mon-Fri 6:30am-6pm CST · Call this number for the Debt Management department · Debt Management Center - If you are having thoughts of suicide, press 7. Self-help options, press 9. Credit card or HCH payment, press 1. Education debt, press 2. Pension debt, press 3. Military debt, press 4. Disaster relief, press 5.

GI Bill Hotline

888-442-4551
Toll-free · Mon-Fri 8am-7pm EST · Direct to a human · Education helpline - If you are having thoughts of suicide, press 7 now. Montgomery GI Bill verifying your attendance, visit our website or press 1. Direct deposit, automated payment history system, press 2. Debt Management Center, press 3. Spouse or dependent of a VA who died on 911, press 5.

My HealtheVet Help Desk

877-327-0022
Toll-free · Mon-Fri 8am-8pm EST · Direct to a human · Please hold for the next help desk representative.

How do I get through the phone menu to a real live person?

GetHuman researchers routinely call this US Dept. of Veterans Affairs phone number to document the phone system.
Here is our latest tip for weaving through the phone menu to get to a real person the fastest: Direct to a human
Here is how our research team describes the way the US Dept. of Veterans Affairs phone system greets you: Enrollment in VA healthcare, press 1. Billing, collections, or insurance, press 2. Benefits administration, press 3. For any other questions, press 0 for the operator.

What are the hours and when should I call?

US Dept. of Veterans Affairs operates the call center for this 877-222-8387 phone number Mon-Fri 8am-8pm ET. The short answer is that you should call on a Thursday. This observation and the following section are based on analysis of a sample set of 879 calls made in the last 90 days using our free, web-based phone (see above).
An important note: busy times vs hold times vs best time to call
When we refer to busy or less busy times, we are talking about the volume of calls. The busiest times are when the most people are calling this US Dept. of Veterans Affairs phone number (least busy times have fewer people calling). This high call volume does not necessarily mean that you will have a long hold time when you call. Companies like US Dept. of Veterans Affairs staff their call centers differently based on the time of day and day of the week, so you may experience a shorter wait on hold at the busiest of times. When we refer to the best time to call, we are referring to the optimal combination of lower call volume and shorter wait times.

The least busy time to call

The least busy day to call US Dept. of Veterans Affairs is Thursday. The most busy day to call is Tuesday. Again, this is based on a sample of 879 calls made with our AI-powered, web-based phone in the last 90 days.

The shortest wait on hold

We measured the shortest hold times to be on Monday. The longest wait in the queue on average occurs on Tuesday.

The best time to call

In summation, the best day to call US Dept. of Veterans Affairs is Thursday. This is not the day with the shortest wait on hold in the phone system, but we still recommend it for its ideal combination of low call volume and short hold times. Plus we believe that US Dept. of Veterans Affairs staffs the call center well on Thursday.

Calling this US Dept. of Veterans Affairs Customer Number

Adam Goldkamp is the editor / author responsible for this content.
Nov 28, 2023

Many Veterans and others are aware of health services offered by the Department of Veterans Affairs; however, by contacting one of the agency’s customer service numbers, service members and Veterans can learn about home loans, programs to help them transition into civilian jobs, counseling and more.

I called the Veterans Affairs 877-222-8387 customer service number to find out what volunteer opportunities are available for community members who want to support local Veterans.

My call began with an automated voice response system thanking me for calling the Department of Veterans Affairs. The voice continued, “We are experiencing a higher-than-normal call volume.” It told me to please hold and that the next available representative would be with me as soon as possible.

After telling me to hold, the voice thanked me for my patience, welcomed me again, and thanked me for my service. It said if I had a medical emergency to hang up and dial 911. Next, it shared that the system may monitor the call for training and quality assurance.

As I waited, I went through another round of the system, thanking me and telling me about the high call volume. Again, the voice told me to hold and that the next available representative would take my call as soon as possible.

The automated voice explained that the call volume may be lower early in the morning and later in the afternoon if I preferred to call back. Then, it shared a menu with numbers I could press on my keypad to get specific information. For enrollment in VA Healthcare, I could press 1. To inquire about billing, collections or insurance, I could press 2.

The voice said it would transfer me to the Veterans Benefits Administration for questions about pensions, disability, education, the GI bill and insurance if I pressed 3. I selected the last option, but rather than transferring me to a representative, the system recited another phone number to call for help.

Telling callers if they have a medical emergency to hang up and call 911 is a helpful strategy because a Veteran experiencing an emergency may call this number for medical assistance. I can appreciate the welcome messages and thanks for serving, but repeating them wasted time, especially since the system offered a menu that I hoped would take me to a human for help.

The system tried in its robotic way to be helpful, but in the end, it gave me another phone number I did not have time to call. Since I am interested in volunteering for the agency, I will try that number when I have more time. Maybe the organization can update the system to share that number at the beginning of the call.

Adam has been tirelessly trying to help customers find the best tips and tricks to get through phone trees and writing many guides for prickly customer service problems. He's been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Inside Edition and Bloomberg.

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