from what I can figure, you have to be poor, or you have to have a service related injury, or you had to be in during wartime and in the war zone....My husband keeps getting denied service and that's all I can come up with ....he was covered by my insurance and even though he was active in the 1970's he never was in Nam...
his brother on the other hand, was in the Navy during that time....he had one flight where he landed at an airport in Nam, never got out of the plane, yet was granted Va access because he had "been" in Viet Nam.......go figure.....
I can go to the VA and get treated under my disability or use my health insurance and VA will pay any Copay. The requirements are murky as you say.