Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Understanding the VA Aid & Attendance Pension

Finding ways to pay for assisted living and memory care is challenging and stressful. Many families are not aware of a VA benefit that can help – the Aid & Attendance Pension. Aid and Attendance (A&A) is part of the VA’s ‘improved pension’, which consists of 3-tiers. A&A is the highest level awarded to a veteran or surviving spouse who requires assistance with their daily living such as dressing, bathing, cooking, eating and medication management. The application process can be lengthy and frustrating to document, but with the help of a knowledgeable Elder Law attorney in your area, well worth the effort. 
Service Eligibility: Any war-time veteran with 90 days of active duty during a period of war is eligible to apply. A surviving spouse may also apply. You must qualify both medically and financially. 
Military Conflict Eligibility:
Indian Wars: January 1, 1817, through December 31, 1898. The veteran must have served thirty days or more, or for the duration of such Indian War. Service must have been with the U.S. forces against Indian tribes or nations.
Spanish-American War: April 21, 1898, through July 4, 1902, including the Philippine Insurrection and the Boxer Rebellion. Also included are those individuals engaged in the Moro Province hostilities through July 15, 1903.
Mexican Border War: May 9, 1916, through April 5, 1917. The veteran must have served for one day or more in Mexico, on the borders thereof, or in the waters adjacent thereto.
World War I: April 6, 1917, through November 11, 1918, extended to April 1, 1920, for those who served in the Soviet Union. Service after November 11, 1918, through July 2, 1921, qualifies for benefits purposes if active duty was performed for any period during the basic World War I period.
World War II: December 7, 1941, through December 31, 1946, extended to July 25, 1947, where continuous with active duty on or before December 31, 1946.
Korean Conflict: June 27, 1950, through January 31, 1955.
Vietnam Era: August 5, 1964, through May 7, 1975, and February 28, 1961, through May 7, 1975, for a veteran who served in the Republic of Vietnam during that period.
Persian Gulf War: August 2, 1990, through a date to be prescribed by Presidential proclamation or law.
Congress has not enacted legislation that would make the periods covering the 1983-1984 Lebanon crisis or the invasions of Grenada and Panama wartime service.
Medical Eligibility:
The veteran or eligible spots must need the assistance of another person to perform daily tasks – such as eating, dressing, tolieting, bathing. You also qualify if you are blind or in a nursing home for mental or physical incapacity, or residing in an assisted living facility.
Financial Eligibility:
To qualify financially, an applicant must have (on average) less than $80,000 in assets – excluding their home and vehicles.
Applying for the Aid & Attendance Pension Benefit:
The process requires a copy of your DD-214 or separation papers, a medical evaluation by a physician that details current medical issues, net worth limitations, net income, and a list of out-of-pocket medical expenses. You may contact the VA system for more information at: 877.222.VETS, your nearest VA health care facility, or contact a local Elder Law attorney experienced in working successfully with the benfits officer at the Veterans Benefits Office.
Amount of assistance from the Aid & Attendance Benefit:
Amounts will vary from person-to-person, and circumstance-to circumstance. Currently the A&A Pension can provide up to $1,758 per month to a veteran, $1,130 per month to a surviving spouse, or $2,085 per month to a couple. If a veteran is still independent, but has a sick spouse, they could still be eligible for up to $1,130 per month. To best assess your personal situation, and to optimize all the benefits you are eligible for, consider having a local Elder Law attorney review your situation and help you expedite your claim.
Qualification timeline:
Once you have submitted all of your paperwork it takes about 8 to 10 months to get a ‘determination’ letter, sometimes longer. To insure all of your paperwork is in order and filed properly, consider working with an Elder Law attorney experienced in this area, and familiar with all of the regional centers. Often these professionals know which facility and staff are better at expediting the claim, and have working relationships that can ease the process. Once you are qualified, the Aid & Attendance Pension can be made to cover retroactively for up to a year. 

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