Program pays family members for taking care of Mom and Dad
Written by Debra Sorensen | | news@toledofreepress.comLooking for a way to help Mom and Dad pay for home care or assisted living? Perhaps you are their caregiver. Wouldn’t it be nice to receive some extra income to help you provide their care? There is financial help available for senior veterans and their spouses.
For veterans who served during a time of war, or for their surviving spouses, the Veterans Aid & Attendance Pension will pay additional income to cover long-term care costs. The great news about this program is that the VA will allow veterans’ households to include the annual cost of paying any person such as family members, friends or hired help for care when calculating the pension benefit.
Pension can provide an additional monthly income of up to $1,949 a month for a couple, $1,644 a month for a single veteran or $1,056 a month for a single surviving spouse of a veteran. This money can be used to help pay the cost of home care, adult day services, assisted living or nursing home services.
To reduce income to meet the income test for pension, a rating for “aid and attendance” or “housebound” is crucial. Not only does the rating significantly increase the benefit amount, but without a rating, room and board costs for assisted living are not deductible for purposes of reducing income. Only the much smaller assisted-living medical costs are deductible.
For home care, nonmedical costs are only deductible if the in-home attendant is licensed for health care in that state or if there is a rating. Since the nonmedical costs for home care represent the bulk of all costs for long-term care at home, without a rating, those households with a nonlicensed attendant would not qualify for the benefit. Examples of medical or nursing services at home would be help with activities of daily living such as dressing, bathing, toileting, ambulating, feeding, diapering and so on. Other services might include medication reminders or supervision necessary to provide a protective environment for the care recipient in the case of dementia or Alzheimer’s.
A rating for aid and attendance is automatic if someone is a patient in a nursing home or that person is blind or so nearly blind as to need assistance.
It is our understanding that a nonlicensed in-home attendant could be just about anyone receiving pay for providing services. This might be members of the family, friends, or someone hired to live in the home. Unfortunately, a spouse cannot be included in this list for reimbursable caregivers.
For a disabled person who has been rated, a family member will be considered an in-home attendant, but that family member has to be paid for services duly rendered. There is potential for fraud where a family member may move into the home and ostensibly receive payment as a caregiver but not actually provide the level of care paid for. Documentation for this care must be provided to the VA, and it is reasonable for the VA to question whether the services being purchased from a family member living in the household are legitimate. Such arrangements should be extensively documented and completely arm’s-length.
The care arrangements and payment for home care must be made prior to application and there must be evidence that this care is needed on an ongoing and regular basis. We recommend a formal care contract and monthly invoice billing for services. Money must exchange hands and there must be evidence of this. All of this documentation must be provided as proof to the VA when making an application for the pension benefit. Costs for these services must be unreimbursed; meaning these costs are not paid by insurance, by contributions from the family or from other sources. Even though the family member being paid for services cannot reimburse the veteran household directly, the family may pay the bills for the veteran household. This indirect form of support is allowed.
There is an application form to be submitted, along with a doctor’s report form, documentation of medical expenses and payment of home care services or facility fees. Other documentation includes original discharge papers, marriage records if applicable and a death certificate where applicable. An inventory of all sources of household income and all household cash equivalent assets is also required. Providing complete documentation with the initial application will expedite a rating and approval for pension payment.
For those who want to do it themselves, the National Care Planning Council provides help in its book “How to Apply for the Veterans Aid & Attendance Pension Benefit.” http://www.longtermcarelink.net/a16veterans_books.htm
This book provides, in detail, a description of application for the pension benefit and what information and documentation other than the application form should be submitted. All necessary forms are included in the book, such as the application form and forms for medical expenses and other costs.
ElderLawAnswers.com review of this book states; “This is the book to get if you want an in-depth understanding of how veterans’ benefits work, what options are available and how to apply. http://www.elderlawanswers.com/resources/article.asp?id=6209§ion=5&state =
Veterans benefits
A Veterans benefits consultant is an individual who helps veterans understand long-term care benefits available through VA. This can include information on veterans health care, state veterans homes and veterans disability income benefits. Consultants place particular emphasis on pension and death pension because these benefits are typically more useful for the elderly needing long-term care.
Pension is also known as “the aid and attendance benefit.”
Being a consultant is not a formal title but merely a description of this person’s function.
Consultants provide information about the aid and attendance benefit, including what it is, who can qualify and what information and documentation are necessary in order to file a claim. A consultant does not participate in any way in the application process unless that consultant is an accredited attorney representing his or her client in proceedings before the VA.
Consultants who are accredited veterans service organization representatives can also assist claimants with the filing of a claim. For all other consultations, veteran households seeking help with filing a claim are directed to an appropriate veterans service organization or to a state or county veterans service officer or, where appropriate, they are encouraged to file a claim on their own.
Some consultants also help potential claimants realign their assets and complete important estate planning documents prior to making application.
Veterans benefits consultants are private practitioners or in some cases representatives of veterans service organizations and are not connected with the Department of Veterans Affairs. To find a consultant in your area go to http://www.longtermcarelink.net/ref_veterans_consultants.htm.
Debra Sorensen is a care coordinator who helps people access resources and makes plans for their lives, the family and seniors as well as disabled persons. Reach her by calling (419) 367-8835 or e-mail debra@independentcaresolutions.com.
