The Veterans Affairs Dental Insurance Program (VADIP) was established in 2014 by the Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act of 2010 as a Pilot Project. It was designed to provide premium-based dental insurance for veterans.
Dental benefits, provided by the VA, are deliberately narrower than VA medical benefits, and most veterans enrolled in VA health care are not automatically eligible for routine VA-provided dental care.
The VADIP was reauthorized in 2016 for five (5) years and later made a permanent VA program in 2021. In summary, the VA contracts with private insurers to offer Veterans Health Administration (VHA) enrolled veterans discounted dental insurance.
The VA’s primary VADIP role is to establish contracts with the private insurers and verify veterans’ eligibility. The VA contracts with private insurers that are responsible for administering dental insurance plan options and providing dental benefits.
The VA does not pay for any coverage or care through the VADIP. The veterans who enroll in a VADIP plan are responsible for paying any premiums, deductibles, and coinsurance.
The two (2) private insurers VADIP are Delta and MetLife) that administer the VADIP. They offer veterans plan options with a range of coverage for diagnostic, preventive, and restorative dental care services.
Enrollment is handled directly by the insurance carriers, not the VA. You must choose either Delta Dental or MetLife and visit their specific VADIP website to complete the online application. The insurance company will then verify your eligibility with the VA before finalizing your enrollment.
As of June of 2026, one insurer offers three (3) distinct plans. The first plan has the Basic Coverage to and offers routine cleanings, X-rays, oral exams, sealants, fillings, simple extractions and root canals.
The Enhanced Coverage (Plan 2) has all the dental benefits contained in the Lowest Coverage, plus additional coverage for procedures, such as crowns and implants.
The Comprehensive Coverage (Plan 3) has all benefits contained in the Medium Coverage with higher coverage provided for major procedures. This Plan excludes orthodontia coverage.
The other insurer has only two (2) plans. The Lowest Coverage provides dental benefits for routine cleanings, X-rays, oral exams, fillings, crowns, bridges and dentures.
The Highest Coverage Plan for the second insurer contains all the benefits in the Lowest Coverage, with higher coverage for some procedures and orthodontia coverage for dependent children up to 19 years old.
Plan options vary in monthly premiums and other aspects. Of course, Plans with the highest coverage have higher monthly premiums and annual maximum allowances and lower coinsurance.
The current VA contracts with the insurers first went into effect in September 2022 and included options that allowed the contract period to run through August 2027.
VA officials stated in April 2026 that they had recently reviewed publicly available commercial dental plan rates and again found that VADIP rates were lower than those offered through commercial dental plans.
According to VA, the lower rates established under VADIP result in VA being able to offer discounted private dental insurance to veterans.
The number of veterans enrolled in VADIP ranged from about 55,000 in FY 2020 to about 67,000 in FY 2025. The number of veterans enrolled each FY was consistently less than one (< 1%) percent of those eligible.
There are several reasons for the lack of participation in the VADIP. The chief reason appears to be the lack of awareness of the VADIP, which has been going on since 2014.
Both the VA and the insurers have a central role in marketing VADIP to eligible veterans. VHA officials stated that the VA shared information about VADIP through social media and the VA website.
A secondary reason could be that cost could be a factor, as some veterans may not be able to afford to purchase dental insurance of any kind, including dental insurance offered through VADIP.
Other factors include that veterans’ geographic areas may affect veterans’ decisions to enroll, or they may not enroll because they have private dental insurance through their employers or another source.
My opinion: Apparently, the VADIP is making a positive impact on the disabled veterans who can afford the premiums for the coverage. The fact that the VADIP has grown to 67,000 enrollees indicates that some good, in terms of dental care, is occurring.
In August of 2025, the VA created a two-page brochure explaining what the VADIP is and the dental care services it offers.
Veterans should explore the feasibility of enrolling in the VADIP if they lack the free dental care currently provided by the VA.
John Plahovinsak is a retired 32-year Army veteran who served from 1967 to 1999. He is the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) Department of Ohio’s Hospital Chairman and Adjutant of DAV Chapter #63 (Clermont County). He can be contacted at: [email protected].