The benefits available to veterans can be complicated to understand, but often provide critical services to veterans in need. Many veterans find themselves needing help with the cost of long term care. Long-term care can include a variety of things, ranging from managing an illness to assistance with performing everyday tasks. It can be provided for in a person’s home, in a different residential setting, or some place such as a nursing home or assisted living facility. Unfortunately, long term care can be very costly and many are unable to afford the care they so desperately need. Accessing the long term care benefits offered to veterans may help ease the burden of these costs.
Long-Term Care for Veterans
Yes, there are long-term care benefits available to veterans and surviving spouses. The Veterans Administration (VA) offers long term care services for sick or disabled veterans that includes:
- Round the clock nursing and medical care
- Physical therapy
- Assistance with everyday tasks
- Pain management
- Caregiver support
These benefits are offered to those veterans who may still be at home, in a VA run facility, or other locations. For those that are still at home or are outside a VA facility in the community, you will likely have to prove a clinical need for the service and the service must be available where you are located. However, benefits for those veterans in these situations include things like skilled home health care.
Long-term care benefits relating to nursing home care have different eligibility requirements that will vary depending on the type of facility. The VA will not pay for room and board in a residential setting such as an assisted living facility. You may, however, be eligible to receive Services at Home and in the Community offered by the VA while you are living in a residential setting. Additionally, should you meet certain eligibility criteria relating to your service-connected status, disability level, and income, the VA may provide Community Living Center (VA nursing home) benefits which is community nursing home care.
Additionally, the VA has an underutilized pension benefit that is called Aid and Attendance. It provides money to those who need assistance in performing daily tasks. This benefit may still be available to veterans whose income is above the legal limit for a VA pension. This is usually the case for veterans who may have substantial medical expenses and who do not receive reimbursement. The Aid and Attendance pension benefit is available to veterans who served a minimum of 90 days, with at least one of these days being during wartime.
Contact Monk Law Firm Today
If you are a veteran, there are benefits available to you that you may not be aware of. At Monk Law, we help veterans understand and access these critical benefits. Contact us today.