Veterans Benefits and Long Term Care

The Aid and Attendance (A&A) Benefit is offered through the Veterans’ Administration. This benefit has remained largely unknown, but can be very useful to assist in paying for long-term care costs. If you are a veteran or a surviving spouse, and you require the use of another person to assist you in performing basic daily activities, this pension can help you by allowing you the use of additional monetary benefits. This pension is also available to those veterans or spouses that are blind or are in a nursing home due to mental or physical incapacity, and those that are in assisted living care. The A&A benefits are not available to those that are only needed housekeeping, part-time care or respite care.

The basic daily activities include:

• Bathing
• Dressing and undressing
• Eating
• Toileting
• Continence
• Transferring (ie: moving from a bed to a chair, etc.)

Because the A&A benefit is considered a pension benefit, it is not dependent on service-related injuries in order to receive compensation. Most veterans that apply for this pension benefit will qualify, but you should always seek professional advice before considering this benefit. Elder Law Attorneys are trained to answer all of your questions and help you to make the best decisions for your long term care needs.