The benefit
Mobility equipment reaches veterans through the Prosthetic and Sensory Aids Service, or PSAS, at your VA medical center. It is a well-worn path. It just is not one most people have had explained to them.
Veteran Crutches is operated by Millennial Medical and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or a contractor of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. This site provides general educational information about VA health care benefits. It is not legal, medical, or financial advice, and it is not a guarantee of coverage. Eligibility and coverage decisions are made solely by the VA.
Two things get confused constantly, so it is worth separating them. A disability rating is what VA benefits pays you. VA health care is what treats you and issues your equipment. Crutches come from the second one.
You do not need a service-connected rating to be enrolled in VA health care, and having a rating does not automatically enrol you. If you already see a VA provider, you are enrolled. If you are not, applying is the first step, and it is free.
Apply online at va.gov, or call the VA's enrollment line directly. Mon–Fri, 8am–8pm ET.
Two routes
Both end with you holding crutches. They move at different speeds and involve different paperwork, and which one you are on changes what you should ask for.
Your VA provider writes the order and sends it to PSAS, which handles procurement and fulfilment. This is the standard path and the one most veterans are on.
If the VA has authorised you to see a provider outside the VA system, that provider can request equipment too. It just has to be on the request, in writing, before submission.
The process
Equipment comes through VA health care, not through a disability rating on its own. If you are not enrolled yet, apply at va.gov or call 1-877-222-8387.
Already seeing a VA provider? You are enrolled. Skip to step two.
Any VA medical center, community based outpatient clinic, or provider in the VA Community Care Network can start the request. Primary care, physical therapy, and orthopedics all count.
You do not need a specialist referral to ask the question.
Say the product name and the HCPCS code together: in-Motion Pro Forearm Crutch, code E0110, or in-Motion Pro Underarm Crutch, code E0117. Ask for the code and the quantity to be written into the order.
E0110 is billed as a pair. E0117 is billed per crutch, so a pair is quantity 2. Getting the quantity wrong is the most common way a veteran ends up with one crutch.
Your VA medical center’s Prosthetic and Sensory Aids Service handles the order and the fulfilment. If you are going through Community Care, the provider puts the equipment on VA Form 10-10172 before they submit it.
Ask the clinic for the request number so you have something to follow up on.
Say it like this
The difference between "my crutches hurt" and a processable request is naming the thing you want. You are allowed to do that.
"I'd like to request the in-Motion Pro forearm crutch, HCPCS code E0110, one pair. Can we get that into the order with the code and quantity written in?"
For the underarm crutch, swap in E0117 and ask for quantity 2, because that code is billed per crutch rather than per pair.
Cost
For most veterans, equipment the VA issues in connection with a service-connected condition carries no copay. Beyond that, what you pay depends on your VA Priority Group and on why the equipment is being issued, and those are facility-level determinations.
We are not going to print a number here and have you plan around it. Your VA facility can tell you exactly where you stand before anything is ordered, and that is the answer worth having. Ask them directly: "will there be a copay on this, and how much?"
If waiting is the problem, you can buy the same crutches outright for $149 a pair, with 30-day returns. Plenty of veterans buy a pair and pursue the VA route at the same time.
That decision belongs to the VA, and it is made by your care team and your local Prosthetic and Sensory Aids Service. What we can tell you is that both crutches have an established HCPCS code the VA already uses, and that naming the product and the code makes the request concrete instead of a general complaint about your current crutches. Nobody outside the VA can promise you an approval.
That is the Medicare answer, and it is a common mix-up. Medicare Part B does not cover E0117 under LCD L33733, whose policy article lists E0110 through E0116 and leaves E0117 out. VA health care is a separate system with its own rules, and it is not bound by that Medicare policy. If you are working with the VA, the Medicare exclusion is not the rule that applies to you.
For most veterans, equipment the VA issues for a service-connected condition carries no copay. What you pay, if anything, depends on your VA Priority Group and why the equipment is being issued. Your VA facility can tell you exactly where you land before anything is ordered. If you would rather not wait on the VA at all, you can buy the same crutches directly for $149 a pair.
It varies by facility and by how busy prosthetics is. Some veterans walk out of a Community Care appointment with crutches the same day; a VA medical center order more often takes a few weeks. Asking for the request or order number at the appointment gives you something specific to follow up on.
The post is spring loaded and articulating: it compresses on impact and returns that energy as you push off, instead of sending the shock straight up your arm. The tips pivot to stay flat on the ground at an angle. They hold up to 350 lb, weigh 2.2 lb each, are aluminium and fold.
Forearm crutches (E0110) carry the load through a cuff on your forearm and leave your hands free to open a door or carry something, which is why they are the usual choice for long-term or permanent use. Underarm crutches (E0117) are the familiar shape and are often easier to adapt to for a shorter recovery. Your provider should make the call with you, and we are happy to talk it through on the phone first.
No. This site is run by Millennial Medical, the company that manufactures the in-Motion crutch. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or a contractor of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and we cannot approve, deny, or bill a VA claim. We publish this because veterans kept calling us asking which code to give their provider.
No. We do not bill the VA directly. The VA orders equipment through its own channels, which is why the useful thing we can give you is the exact product name, code and quantity to put in front of your provider. If you want to buy a pair yourself instead, you can do that on our store today.
Next step
Tell us where you are in the process and we will tell you what the next move is, even if that move has nothing to do with buying anything from us.
Leave your details and a Millennial Medical rep will call you back with the exact codes and wording to bring to your VA appointment. No cost, no obligation.
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