Avodah Home Care Explains Veterans Aid and Attendance Benefits
What are Aid and Attendance Benefits?
VA Aid and Attendance offers qualifying veterans and surviving spouses with a large monthly payment in addition to their existing VA pensions. This additional income is applied to the VA Pension or Survivors Pension to help pay for long-term senior care.
What Types of Senior Care Are Covered by VA Aid and Attendance?
The VA Aid and Attendance benefit can help cover the cost of assisted living, memory care, a nursing home, or in-home care services for older veterans and their surviving spouses who can no longer manage their care independently.
Any senior living community that provides 24-hour staffing and the veteran requires assistance with at least two of the six activities of daily living (ADLs) permitted by the VA can assist a veteran or their surviving spouse.
Who Can Receive VA Aid and Attendance?
To qualify for VA Aid and Attendance, a veteran must already reside in an assisted living facility or have an in-home caregiver. To receive a VA Aid and Attendance benefit, you or your senior loved one must first be receiving a basic VA pension, or you or they must apply for a basic VA pension at the same time they apply for a VA Aid and Attendance benefit. To be eligible for the basic VA pension, veterans must satisfy all of the following criteria:
They must have been honorably discharged.
They must have served on active duty for at least 90 days before September 8, 1980, with at least one day during wartime, or for 24 months after September 7, 1980, with at least one day during wartime.
They must be at least 65 years old, have a permanent disability, reside in a nursing home due to their disability, or be recipients of Social Security Disability or Supplemental Security Income.
What Are The Requirements for VA Aid and Attendance?
To qualify for VA benefits, the veteran's net worth must fall below $130,773. This limit set by Congress lasts until November 30, 2021, and the limit may change annually. The VA considers the following as wartime periods:
· World War I (May 9, 1916 – April 5, 1917)
· World War II (December 7, 1941 – December 31, 1946)
· Korean War (June 27, 1950 – January 31, 1955)
Vietnam War ( February 28, 1961 – May 1975 )
Gulf War (August 2, 1990 – TBD)
Clinical Requirements
To qualify for the additional Veterans Aid and Attendance benefit, a
· Needs a caregiver to assist with activities of daily living (ADLs), like dressing, showering, or toileting,
· Is bedridden as the result of an illness.
· Veteran's vision is 5/200 or less in both eyes or
· The veteran has a visual field of 5 degrees or fewer
Where Can I Find Help?
Avodah Home Care's Client Care Coordinators can answer general questions about VA Aid and Attendance. They can refer to trusted, VA-accredited consultant partners for help in filling out the application. While veterans can complete a successful application on their own, sometimes trained help is needed.
Contact us today at www.avodahhomecare.health or by phone at 803-764-4048
Avodah Home Care Providing Quality Care, You Can Trust