Veterans who receive a VA pension may be eligible for certain benefits that help them receive home care services. Let’s look at the VA home care benefits available to qualified Veterans and determine how they may help you receive the services you need to maintain a good quality of life.
Which VA Benefits Help You Receive Home Care Services?
VA Aid and Attendance is the top benefit for helping Veterans afford and receive home care services. It’s the only VA pension benefit that has a cash payout. When you receive this benefit, you can use the funds for anything you want or need, including paying for home care services.
Are all Veterans eligible for Aid and Attendance? No. You must meet a set of qualifying criteria to receive this pension benefit. The qualification requirements for Aid Attendance benefits include the following:
- You need someone else’s assistance to perform daily activities, such as bathing and dressing.
- You need to stay in bed all day or during the majority of the day.
- Your eyesight is limited to 5/200 or less even with contact lenses or glasses, or you have a concentric visual field of five degrees or less.
You must meet one of these three physical requirements to begin qualifying for Aid and Attendance. However, this Veterans’ pension benefit also has financial requirements.
What Financial Requirements Do You Have To Meet To Qualify For Aid and Attendance?
You must meet certain financial requirements to receive the Aid and Attendance pension benefit. Why? These requirements ensure that the benefit goes to Veterans who genuinely need that monetary assistance. Financial requirements are necessary because, in previous years, Veterans who didn’t need the financial assistance abused the system to receive Aid and Attendance and left the benefit money to their heirs as inheritance. The VA and Congress put financial limits for pension rates in place to prevent that type of abuse from happening again. These limits include:
- Countable Income: Your countable income is how much you earn. This income includes Social Security payments, retirement payments, and investments. A few types of expenses, such as non-reimbursable medical payments, can lower your countable income.
- Maximum Annual Pension Rate (MAPR): Congress sets the MAPR every year, and it’s the maximum payable pension amount. Every Veteran’s MAPR is different, and it has several financial factors, such as how many dependents you have or if you qualify for Aid and Attendance.
- Net Worth Limit: Your net worth must fall below a limit set by Congress every year. Your net worth includes the annual income of you and your spouse plus any additional assets, such as your house. The net worth limit for VA pensions and Aid and Attendance in 2021 is $130,773.
If you receive a VA pension after meeting the first two financial requirements, the VA has to consider your net worth to determine your eligibility for Aid and Attendance. If your net worth falls below the current limit, you may qualify for the Aid and Attendance benefit.
How Can You Receive Home Care Services With Aid and Attendance?
Once you begin receiving Aid and Attendance benefit payments, you can use them to pay for a home care provider’s services. But how can you find home care professionals in your area who can meet your daily needs? AVCC provides care coordination services that connect you with local home care providers who can meet your needs. We match you with a member of our provider network who operates in your area. Once we find a local provider who offers the services you need, you can start using your Aid and Attendance payments to cover their service costs.
Discover Your Aid and Attendance Eligibility With AVCC
Home care services offer the daily personal care that many Veterans and surviving spouses need to maintain a good quality of life. Aid and Attendance helps you pay for those services. If you need home care services and you think you might qualify for Aid and Attendance, reach out to AVCC today. We screen Veterans for their Aid and Attendance eligibility, and we can do the same for you. Then we help you get in touch with local home care providers.
