Many veterans may not know they qualify for financial support for home care
There are plenty of reasons why an elderly veteran might require some type of extra care at home. For veterans who need home care, they may turn to family and friends for support, because they don’t think they can afford to hire a caregiver. Employing an experienced home care aide can seem out of reach to those with limited incomes, especially those living on social security and perhaps a small pension.
Aid and Attendance – A VA benefit for home care
In truth, some veterans may actually qualify for financial support through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) when home care is necessary. There is a little-known benefit called Aid and Attendance for veterans who served at least one day during war time, with a minimum of 90 days active military duty and received an honorable discharge.
This pension can provide up to $1,788 per month for assistance with daily living such as: bathing, dressing, meal preparation, laundry, light housekeeping, medication reminders, transportation and more. Surviving spouses of war-time veterans may also qualify for an Aid and Attendance benefit up to $1,149 per month.
Why is this benefit often over-looked?
Typically, disability compensation through the VA is obtained when a person is at least 10% disabled because of injuries or diseases that were incurred in or aggravated during his or her active military duty or active duty for training. However, the VA’s Aid and Attendance benefit is different. It pays for home care when the veteran’s disability is a non service-connected disability.
For Aid and Attendance, veterans aren’t required to have fought in an active combat situation, but they need to have served when the US military was actively engaged in conflict. This would include World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam Conflict. Veterans who served during the Gulf War may also be eligible, but they must have served in active duty for two years.
The eligibility requirements and application process can be complicated. That’s why Veterans Home Care, a private, family-owned and operated company, offers their VetAssist Program. The VetAssist Program also provides service to veterans after they’ve qualified for Aid and Attendance with ongoing VA compliance and home care monitoring.
For more information and to learn about Veterans Home Care Visits, contact Veteran’s Home Care at (888) 314-6075.
