VA.gov & VA Video Connect — A Veteran's Guide

The sign-in changed. Your benefits didn't.

In 2025 the VA retired its old passwords — the My HealtheVet user ID went away on March 5, 2025, and DS Logon followed on November 18, 2025. As of mid-2026 there are exactly two ways into VA.gov: a free Login.gov account or a free ID.me account. Both require proving who you are with a photo ID and, usually, a picture or short video of your face. That identity-verification step is the single biggest hurdle in all of VA's online tools — so this guide treats it that way, with a slow step-by-step for each service and a real plan B when the computer says no.

Once you're through the door, the payoff is real: refill VA prescriptions and track them to your mailbox, send written questions straight to your care team, download your records with the Blue Button, watch a claim move without hold music, and see your VA provider by video from the kitchen table. The guide is written as a printable handout, and local veterans' organizations are welcome to print copies for their members — that's what it's for.

One key, three doors

• VA.gov — the front door: claims and appeals, benefit letters, applications, everything else.
• My HealtheVet — the health portal, which now lives inside VA.gov: prescriptions, secure messages, records, appointments.
• The VA: Health and Benefits app — the free official phone app; after one sign-in you can switch on fingerprint or face unlock.
• One Login.gov or ID.me account opens all three. You do not need separate passwords anymore.

Getting verified — the honest version

• Gather first: current driver's license or state ID (or passport), your Social Security number, a cell phone that gets texts, and an email address only you use.
• Login.gov: photos of your ID taken with a phone camera (a webcam won't work), sometimes a selfie to match your face to the ID.
• ID.me: ID photos plus a short video selfie — usually 5–10 minutes. If the selfie step fails, a live agent (a "Trusted Referee") can verify you on a video call instead.
• If it fights you: retry in daylight near a window, try the other ID, call the My HealtheVet help desk at 877-327-0022 (weekdays 8am–8pm ET), or bring in a family member — or me.
• Failing verification changes nothing about your benefits. The phone still works: MyVA411, 800-698-2411, 24/7.

What My HealtheVet does day to day

• Prescription refills — click Refill, watch it ship, meet it at the mailbox. Order when you're about two weeks from empty.
• Secure messaging — written questions to your care team, answered in a few business days. Never for emergencies.
• Blue Button — download and print your VA health records for civilian doctors, claims, or the folder at home.
• Appointments — view and cancel online everywhere; self-scheduling is offered for many clinics depending on your facility and type of care.

VA Video Connect in three sentences

Your video appointment arrives as a link, by email (from addresses like video.appointment@va.gov) or text, and the same appointment shows up in your va.gov list. Before the big day, run the free test at mobile.va.gov/app/va-video-connect — or call the Office of Connected Care Help Desk at 866-651-3180, which runs 24/7 and will do a practice call with you. On the day: click the link ten minutes early, tap Allow for camera and microphone, and if technology misbehaves, call the clinic — the visit can usually become a phone call on the spot.

Claims: check online, get help locally, pay nobody

• Check any claim, decision review, or appeal at va.gov/claim-or-appeal-status — including whether the VA is waiting on something from you.
• Upload evidence yourself from the Files tab. Claim questions: 800-827-1000, weekdays 8am–9pm ET.
• The Portage County Veterans Service Commission (330-297-3545, 466 South Chestnut Street, Ravenna) helps county veterans with claims and appeals for free.
• VA-accredited representatives — VFW, American Legion, DAV, and other VSOs — may not charge for help with an initial claim. Verify anyone's accreditation through VA.gov.
• Scam warning: nobody can pay-to-expedite a VA claim or guarantee a rating — only the VA decides claims. Report claim predators at 833-38V-SAFE (833-388-7233) or vsafe.gov.

Community care, in one paragraph

Community care means the VA pays for you to see a local in-network provider instead of driving to a VA facility — but it must be authorized by the VA before you go. Ask your care team for a referral (processing can take up to 14 days), schedule once the referral exists, and keep the authorization letter. General eligibility standards as of mid-2026 include drive times over 30 minutes for primary or mental health care, or waits over 20 days (28 for specialty care) — your care team confirms which applies to you. Seeing a community doctor without the referral can leave the bill on your side of the table.

What's in the printable PDF

• The map: VA.gov, My HealtheVet, and the VA app — one sign-in for all three.
• What happened to the My HealtheVet and DS Logon passwords, with the actual dates.
• Login.gov vs. ID.me compared, and how to pick in one minute.
• The gather-first checklist: ID, Social Security number, phone, your own email, daylight.
• Step-by-step account creation for both services — including the selfie step, honestly.
• A real plan B when identity verification fails: retries, live agents, help desks, local help.
• Prescription refills, secure messaging, Blue Button records, and appointments online.
• VA Video Connect: how the link arrives, the free test call, and a day-of walkthrough.
• Checking claims and appeals online — and what the scary-sounding statuses really mean.
• The VA Health and Benefits app, installed safely with fingerprint unlock.
• Community care basics and the authorization rule that protects your wallet.
• Free local claim help, the pay-to-expedite scam warning, a phone-number table, and a cut-out quick-reference card.

Why I wrote this

Portage County has a lot of veterans, and I kept seeing the same thing on house calls: the VA's online tools are genuinely good, but the 2025 sign-in change left folks locked out of accounts they'd used for years, and nobody handed them a plain-English path back in. This guide is that path — written as a printable handout, and local veterans' organizations are welcome to print a stack for their members. To be clear about my lane: I'm the technology helper, not a VA employee or an accredited claims representative. For claim advice, the county Veterans Service Commission is free and excellent. For the password, the app, and the video call — that's me. — Bill