Everything you Need to Know about Veteran Benefits for Assisted Living

April 13, 2020 0 Comment Category: Assisted Living

The Department of Veterans Affairs offers many types of funding programs to help former members of the US armed services live a contented retired life. These benefits can be very helpful to meet the various needs of senior care as well.

Most of the assisted living communities will work with veterans to help them understand how they can claim the benefits that they are entitled to and pay for the costs of senior care. This can help them to choose the services and amenities at the assisted living wisely and ensure that everything is covered by the veteran benefits. This can come as a great relief for the family members, as long-term senior care at an assisted living community can get very expensive.

By opting to pay for the expenses through VA benefits, you can rest assured that no financial burden will fall upon you later. However, it is important to note that a veteran’s rent in the assisted living facility is usually not covered by VA benefits. Still, it can be used to pay for many types of services that you may need, such as help with managing day-to-day chores, daily hygiene, meals, nursing assistance, etc.

It is important to note that Medicare does not cover the entire expenses of assisted living either, but can be used to pay for some of the qualified medical expenses that you incur when in an assisted living community.

VA Aid and Attendance or Housebound Benefits

Even though there are many types of veteran benefits that you can avail as per your specific service history and other eligibility criteria, the most commonly used option is the VA Aid and Attendance or Housebound benefit. Apart from that, VA Survivors Pension is the usual choice for spouses and unmarried dependent children of deceased wartime veterans. The pension benefits in both the programs are paid to veterans and survivors in addition to the eligible monthly pension. However, the benefits are not paid if the veteran or survivor are not eligible for the monthly pension.

To be eligible for the VA Aid and Attendance benefits, you should meet any of the requirements mentioned below.

•       You need the assistance of another person for performing your day-to-day activities like dressing, eating, bathing, etc.
•       You are bedridden or are required to stay in bed most of the time due to an illness or injury.
•       You are admitted to a skilled nursing home because of physical or mental disabilities.
•       Your eyesight is very limited and you have only 5/200 or less in both your eyes even with contact lenses or eyeglasses, or a field of vision that is less than 5 degrees.

In order to qualify for VA Housebound benefits, you must be confined to stay at home most of the time due to a permanent disability. However, you cannot claim for both Aid and Attendance benefits and Housebound benefits collectively.

There can be other conditions to qualify for the veterans benefits as well, such as the length of senior care service required. When you apply for the VA Aid and Attendance or Housebound benefits, the Department of Veterans Affairs will review your case thoroughly and determine if you are eligible for the benefits.

Generally, the VA Aid and Attendance pension offers from $1850 to $2230 per month to single and married veterans. Still, many qualified veterans do not choose to apply for the VA benefits because they are unaware of how it can help them to cover their assisted living costs. Therefore, it is important to understand how to tap into the veteran benefits and get high-quality senior care services at assisted living communities for as long as possible