For veterans
VA HISA grants for bathroom modifications.
If a medical condition makes your bathroom hard or unsafe to use, the VA's Home Improvements and Structural Alterations grant may pay for changing it. Here's how the program works and where we fit in.
The basics
What HISA is.
HISA stands for Home Improvements and Structural Alterations. It's a VA benefit that helps pay for medically necessary changes to a veteran's home, most often to make bathing, entering and exiting safely possible again.
It is a lifetime benefit, not an annual one, and it can be used in more than one piece until the total is spent. Every HISA project has to be medically justified. The VA is paying for a medical need, not for a nicer bathroom, and the paperwork reflects that.
The benefit is administered through VA Prosthetic and Sensory Aids Service at your local VA medical center. That's who approves it, and that's who you talk to about timing.
$6,800
Service-connected · lifetime maximum
The lifetime maximum if the modification is for a service-connected disability, or for a non-service-connected condition when you hold a service-connected rating of 50% or more.
$2,000
Non-service-connected · lifetime maximum
The lifetime maximum for a medically necessary modification tied to a non-service-connected condition.
Eligible work
What the grant can cover.
The VA names accessible bathing directly: roll-in showers are listed as an example of an eligible improvement. Most of what we build fits inside this list.
- Roll-in and barrier-free showers
- Walk-in and step-in tubs
- Grab bars and transfer supports
- Lowering sinks and counters for seated access
- Improving access into and out of the home
- Permanent ramping at driveways and entries
- Plumbing or electrical work required by medical equipment
Not everything qualifies, and eligibility is decided case by case. Your VA prosthetics representative is the authority on what your specific application will and won't cover.
How to apply
The VA's process, in the order it has to happen.
The sequence matters more than most applicants expect. A quote submitted without a prescription goes nowhere, and a prescription submitted without an itemized estimate stalls in review.
- 01
Talk to your VA provider
HISA starts with medicine, not construction. Your VA physician writes a prescription that spells out the medical justification for the modification you need.
- 02
We measure and quote
A design consultant visits, assesses the bathroom, and prepares an itemized cost estimate broken out the way the VA expects to receive it, with labor and materials separated line by line.
- 03
Submit the application
VA Form 10-0103 goes in with the prescription, the itemized estimate, a color photo of the area, and, if you rent, notarized authorization from the property owner.
- 04
VA reviews and approves
The VA may inspect the site before approving. Approval timelines vary by medical center, so start earlier than you think you need to.
- 05
We build it
We install to the approved scope, keep the documentation straight, and hand you a bathroom you can actually use, with a final walkthrough before we call it finished.
What your application needs
- A VA physician's prescription stating the medical justification
- A completed VA Form 10-0103
- An itemized cost estimate from your contractor
- A color photograph of the area to be modified
- Property-owner authorization, notarized if you rent
Where we fit
What we do for HISA applicants.
We're the contractor, not the VA. But the contractor's part of this is where a lot of applications get stuck, and we know how to keep it moving.
Itemized estimates the VA accepts
Broken out by labor and materials, scoped to the medical need, and written so a reviewer doesn't have to guess what they're approving.
Scope that matches the prescription
If the prescription says roll-in access, we build roll-in access. We won't pad the scope with things the grant won't cover and then leave you holding the difference.
Honest talk about the gap
HISA rarely covers a full remodel. If you want more than the grant pays for, we'll show you both numbers up front so there's no surprise at invoice time.
HISA isn't the only program
Veterans with certain permanent and total service-connected disabilities may also qualify for the Specially Adapted Housing (SAH) or Special Home Adaptation (SHA) grants, which are separate programs with their own eligibility rules and much larger limits. Current amounts and criteria are published at va.gov. Ask your VA representative which one fits your situation before you apply.
A note on who we are
Michigan Shower, LLC is a private contractor. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or an agent of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and we can't approve, deny, or speed up a grant. What we can do is build the work correctly and give you accurate paperwork. Everything on this page is general information. The VA is the authority on your eligibility, and program details can change.
Starting a HISA application?
Send us the bathroom details and we'll get you an itemized estimate you can file. No charge, no obligation, and no pressure to use us if the VA approves something else.