When it comes to our aging veterans, home care is essential. There are many reasons why they deserve to have the right home care as they get older and have trouble tending to their own basic care needs, but it is also easy to forget that they don’t get everything covered through the VA.
While most veterans are eligible to receive free health care through VA hospitals and clinics across the country, there are only so many in operation. That could mean that in order to see a doctor, the veteran would need to travel more than three or four hours, sometimes eight to ten hours by car, just to make an appointment. That’s not practical for most people, so they then fall into the same category as the rest of the nation’s aging population.
Does this mean that veterans deserve extra consideration when it comes to home care? No, but it does bring up an important point that for years, this nation’s veterans were ignored, especially when they reached a certain age. They were placed in homes to receive care through government programs like Medicare or Medicaid.
These veterans deserve to have home care for several reasons.
First, they served their country. Even if they served during a time of peace, there are always risks of being shipped off to battle zones or combat. They put their lives on hold to serve their nation and when it comes time to require care for themselves, they should be able to have it.
Second, there are many different programs that were designed to help veterans received the right level of care, but many of those programs were not funded properly, or are overwhelmed, leaving thousands of elderly veterans on the outside looking in.
Third, a nation is measured by how well it cares for not only its elderly, but also its veterans. When we, as a nation, do not provide the proper home care alternatives for our veterans, what is that going to say about us?
For veterans who are aging, who are over 65 and might require some care at home, there are some programs available that can help pay for some aspects of elderly care. The VA Aid and Attendance Benefit is one of those programs. It’s available to certain military veterans who served during a time of war and meet specific criteria. To learn more, contact the VA and that can help pay for home care for the veterans in your life.
For more information and to learn about Caregivers for Aging Veterans, contact Veteran’s Home Care at (888) 314-6075.
