Senior U.S. military veterans, their spouses, and surviving spouses, will often need help with personal care as they grow older. The Veterans Aid and Attendance Program can help cover the cost of the additional care, including home care, board and care, adult day care, assisted living and skilled nursing facility care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
The program, often misreferred to as the Aid and Assistance\nbenefit, is a reimbursement for out-of-pocket caregiver and care facility\nexpenses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here is a breakdown of how much a veteran or spouse can\nreceive:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Marriage Requirements<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The surviving spouse of a veteran must have been married to\nthe veteran for at least a year before his or her passing. The VA will acknowledge\nthe marriage if the marriage was recognized according to the laws of the place\nwhere at least one of the parties resided when they were married. The VA now\nalso recognizes same-sex marriages without regard to a Veteran\u2019s state of\nresidence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If a spouse remarried to a non-veteran after the veteran\npassed, he or she would only be eligible for benefits if the spouse divorced\nthe second spouse or the second spouse died between January 1, 1971 and\nNovember 1, 1990. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Eligible War Periods<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n An important Aid and Attendance (assistance) program\nqualification is that the veteran served during a recognized wartime\nperiod. The requirement is that the\nveteran served at least 90 days of active duty, with at least one day during\nwartime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are the eligible periods of war:<\/p>\n\n\n\n World War II \u2013 December 7, 1941 to December 31, 1946<\/p>\n\n\n\n Korean Conflict \u2013 June 27, 1950 to January 31, 1955<\/p>\n\n\n\n Vietnam Era \u2013 February 28, 1961 to August 4, 1964 for\nveterans who served in Vietnam (boots on the ground) or on a ship off the coast\nof Vietnam, and August 5, 1964 to May 7, 1975 for veterans who served in\nVietnam, on a ship off the coast of Vietnam, or anyplace else in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gulf War \u2013 August 2, 1990 to a date that will eventually be\nset by law or presidential proclamation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A common myth is that the veteran must have served in a\ncombat zone to be eligible for this benefit. Except for the early Vietnam Era\nperiod (February 28, 1961 to August 4, 1964), a veteran can apply for Aid and\nAttendance regardless of combat zone experience, as long as the general wartime\nqualification has been met (90 days of active duty, with at least one day\nduring an eligible period of war).<\/p>\n\n\n\n More Requirements<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to wartime service, the veteran:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The veteran and spouse of a veteran can apply for benefit\neven if the veteran has no service-connected disability \u2013 another common\nmisconception.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Types of Daily Living Activities<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Aid and Attendance (assistance) Program is for veterans\nand spouses who need help with at least two out of the five types of daily\nliving activities:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bathing \u2013 any help at all with bathing, including adjusting\nthe shower head and water temperature, to actual assistance with bathing, or\nreminders to bath. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Dressing \u2013 assistance with buttoning, zippering, tying\nshoes, putting clothing on, taking clothing off; getting clothes from the\ncloset or dresser, and reminders to change clothes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Mobility \u2013 help getting from place to place, including up\nand down stairs, and in and out of a bed or a chair<\/p>\n\n\n\n Toileting \u2013 assistance with incontinence and getting on or\noff a toilet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Eating \u2013 feeding someone or reminders to eat or eat healthy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Housekeeping, running errands, medication management and\ntransportation are not recognized by the VA as daily living activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Home Care vs. Facility Care<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Aid and Attendance benefit is a reimbursement for either\nhome or facility care. Home care can be provided by a family member, friend, or\nprofessional caregiver. The caregiver\ndoes not have to be licensed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n At some point in time, a veteran or spouse may need to\ntransition to a care facility such as board and care, assisted living and\nskilled nursing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Board and care refers to a residential-type home with a small\nnumber of residents \u2013 6 to 12 on average. \nAn assisted living facility is much larger, sometimes with hundreds of\nresidents. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Both board and care homes and assisted living facilities\nprovide help with daily living activities, as well as meals and social\nactivities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A skilled nursing facility provides medical care as well as help\nwith daily living activities. A skilled nursing facility will have registered\nand licensed nurses on staff, along with certified nurse\u2019s aides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Filing a Veterans Aid and There is no guarantee that a veteran who served during a\nwartime period will be awarded the benefit (or a spouse who was married to a\nwartime veteran). The veteran or spouse\nmust meet all the additional requirements to fully qualify for Aid and\nAttendance, including stringent income and asset criteria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Many people who apply on their own find the application\nprocess extremely difficult due to the complexity of the paperwork and other\nfactors that can result in lengthy processing delays and denials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/s>Attendance\nProgram Claim<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n