Back in 2006, the Department of Veterans Affairs identified the Aid and Attendance VA Health Care Benefit as an under-used benefit by United States war veterans. This under-utilized benefit program is a great benefit that provides additional funds for long-term home care, assisted living, and nursing home expenses. More specifically, the benefit program offers a special monthly pension to wartime veterans and surviving spouses of wartime veterans that provides a significant financial contribution to those who require living assistance and/or those who have exceptionally large medical bills.
While you do need to be a wartime veteran or a surviving spouse of a wartime veteran to receive this benefit, you don’t have to be a wounded vet–you just need to have served. Also, generally speaking, to qualify, claimants must meet requirements that the VA deems as “incapable of self support and in need of regular personal assistance.” Those wartime veterans or their surviving spouses that suffer from the following types of conditions instantly qualify for the benefit: those diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, dementia, or some other type of cognitive impairment; those living in nursing homes; those with physical disabilities that require assisted living conditions (e.g., unable to dress, go shopping, prepare food). Also, your medical expenses MUST exceed your income. While you will want to contact a qualified Ohio elder law attorney to help you determine whether or not you qualify, another basic requirement for the benefit program is that the net worth of the claimant can’t exceed $50,000 for individuals or $80,000 for couples. (This is an important requirement to note if you’ve considered moving to an assisted -living facility or nursing home, as capital gains from a recently sold home may count as income that makes you exceed the $50,000 or $80,000 program cap.)
