A veteran calls our office almost every week asking the same question: “Does the VA just pay for this?”
The honest answer is: sometimes, partially, and almost never fast enough.
There’s a federal program built specifically for this. It’s called the HISA grant, and most veterans have never heard of it. Here’s what it covers, what it doesn’t, and what to do when it isn’t enough on its own.
What Is the HISA Grant?
HISA stands for Home Improvements and Structural Alterations. It’s a VA benefit that pays for home modifications tied to a service-connected or, in some cases, non-service-connected medical condition.
The part that matters most: you don’t need a severe disability rating to qualify. Any veteran with a service connection can apply, which puts it in reach for far more people than the VA’s bigger housing grants.
What HISA Actually Pays For
The grant covers structural work that makes a home safer and more accessible, including:
- Stairlifts and platform lifts
- Wheelchair ramps
- Roll-in showers and bathroom modifications
- Widened doorways for wheelchair or walker access
- Other structural alterations tied to a documented medical need
If a stairlift is medically necessary, it’s explicitly an eligible expense.
The Dollar Amounts (2026)
This is where most veterans get surprised, in both directions.
- HISA grant: up to $6,800, lifetime cap
- SHA grant (Special Housing Adaptation): up to $25,350
- SAH grant (Specially Adapted Housing): up to $126,526
SAH and SHA are reserved for veterans with more severe, specifically listed disabilities (things like loss of use of both lower extremities). HISA has a much lower bar to entry, but a much lower ceiling too.
Here’s the detail nobody explains clearly: HISA can stack on top of SAH or SHA. If a veteran already qualifies for one of the bigger grants, HISA adds on top rather than replacing it.
Where the Gap Shows Up
A $6,800 cap sounds generous until you get a real installation quote. Curved staircases, custom rail lengths, and difficult access points can push a stairlift well past that number. And that’s before accounting for the paperwork timeline: HISA applications go through a VA medical center, require prior approval before work starts, and can take weeks to months depending on the regional office’s backlog.
Meanwhile, the veteran is still climbing stairs they can’t safely climb.
That gap, between “technically eligible for a grant” and “has a working stairlift installed this month,” is exactly where a lot of veterans fall through the cracks. It’s also exactly where a nonprofit built around donated and reconditioned equipment can move faster than a federal grant process ever will.
Why This Matters More Than It Sounds Like
Falls aren’t a minor risk for aging veterans. The CDC reports that more than 1 in 4 older adults falls every year, and those falls account for roughly 4.5 million emergency room visits annually, with 1.4 million serious enough to require hospitalization. Hip fractures alone send nearly 319,000 older adults to the hospital every year, and falls cause the vast majority of those.
A stairlift isn’t a luxury item. For a lot of veterans, it’s the difference between staying in the home they’ve lived in for decades and being forced into assisted living because the stairs became too dangerous.
How Stair Lift for Vets Fits In
We’re not a replacement for the HISA grant. We’re the option for veterans who need help now, don’t have $6,800 of the process cleared yet, or need equipment that costs more than the grant covers.
What we actually do:
- Take donated Acorn and Bruno stairlifts from people who no longer need them
- Professionally recondition that equipment
- Install it through our licensed partner, Star Lift LLC
- Offer some veterans a fully donated unit, and others an affordable reconditioned option, depending on inventory and need
For a veteran already working through the VA’s HISA process, our program can bridge the wait. For a veteran who doesn’t qualify for HISA at all, or whose home needs exceed what the grant covers, it can be the whole solution.
How to Get Help
- Apply for HISA through your VA medical center, if you haven’t already, since it’s worth pursuing in parallel even if the timeline is slow.
- Apply with Stair Lift for Vets by submitting your information along with clear photos of your staircase. The more complete the application, the faster we can match you with available equipment.
- Let us know where you are in the HISA process. If you’re waiting on approval or funding, tell us. It changes how we prioritize and what we recommend.
Currently serving veterans in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Missouri, with more regions coming online as our partner network grows.
A stairlift shouldn’t sit behind months of paperwork. If you’re a veteran who needs one, or you know one who does, apply for assistance today or reach out with questions.