The Department of Veterans Affairs provides three different types of long term care services.
The first are health care benefits provided to veterans who have service-connected disabilities, who are receiving VA Pension or who are considered low income.
These services include:
- free medical care
- possible free prescription drugs
- orthotics and prosthetics
- home renovation grants for disabilities
- home care
- assisted living
- domiciliary care
- nursing home care
The second benefit are the state veterans homes.
The majority of these homes offer nursing care but some may offer assisted living or domiciliary care. The Department of Veterans Affairs in conjunction with the states helps build and support state veterans homes.
Money is provided to help with construction and a federal subsidy of $72.71 a day is provided for each veteran using state veterans nursing home services.
These homes are generally available for most veterans and sometimes their spouses. Veterans homes are run by the states, sometimes with the help of contract management. There may be waiting lists in some states.
The third benefit for veterans is disability income programs.
The most familiar of these benefits is an income for service-connected disabled veterans called the "Disability Compensation Benefit".
The lesser known of these is a program officially called the "Non-service connected Disability Pension" but is more popularly known as the "Aid and Attendance benefit."
Let’s look closer at this Aid and Attendance benefit and who is eligible:
- All active-duty veterans who served at least 90 days during a period of war are eligible for the VA disability pension and the additional income from aid and attendance or housebound allowances. A single un-remarried surviving spouse of such a veteran is also eligible.
- All qualifying veteran applicants over the age of 65 are eligible for pension but must meet income and asset tests. Applicants under the age of 65 must in addition be totally disabled to qualify. The disability does not have to be service connected.
- An un-remarried surviving spouse can be any age and there is no need for disability.
The aid and attendance benefit can provide additional income to assist with the costs associated with home care, assisted living, nursing homes, adult day care and other unreimbursed medical and care expenses.
One of the great features of this VA benefit is that it can also pay for a family member other than a spouse to be the care giver.
The amount of benefit payment you will receive is based on subtracting the qualified medical and care expenses from the recipient and any dependents income.
This "adjusted income" is then subtracted from the maximum allowable pension benefit amount for your marital status.
The difference is the amount of financial assistance you can receive from the VA under the Aid and Attendance Disability Pension Benefit. Learn how to fully understand and get this pension benefit at www.VeteransCareAdvisors.com.
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