Many Veterans do not realize that they may be eligible for Veterans’ benefits to help cover the costs of medical care. If you are a Veteran who served in wartime you may qualify for additional monthly pension. This Veterans’ benefit, called “Aid and Attendance” works best for someone with modest means but large medical expenses. The VA includes most costs of assisted living facilities and nursing homes within the category of medical expenses. Therefore, even if you have a large monthly income you might still qualify if you are paying out monthly expenses for a facility. Other allowable medical expenses include co-payments on prescriptions, insurance premiums, and patient responsibility portions of doctor’s bills.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!In other words, all unreimbursed medical expenses are allowable as a set-off against your income from all sources. If you have more going out each month than coming in, you should look into the program.
Aid & Attendance requires that you have limited assets. You need to be under $129,094 in countable assets. This does not include the value of your home in most cases. It also does not include transfers made before October of 2018 to a qualified trust or to another person outside your household. Transfers after October 2018 are subject to a 36 month lookback period which might disqualify you from filing a claim.
You also have to be permanently in need of the help of others to perform your activities of daily living. To certify the need, there is a doctor’s report we file along with your application for pension.
Our life care planning services include Veterans’ benefit planning and application for our clients who have an eligible service record.
Veteran Assistance Benefits:
There are many veteran assistance benefits to take advantage of. If you left the service with anything other than “dishonorable discharge” from any branch of the military, you may be eligible for disability compensation, veterans pension programs, free or low-cost medical care, education programs, housing and home loans guarantees, job training, and counseling. If you served during a war time, you may qualify for additional benefits and monthly compensation. In order to gain these benefits quickly, one must first send a copy of discharge paperwork, service dates, and type of discharge to VA.GOV website. It is possible to apply for these benefits before being discharged from the military. To see if you may be eligible for this, visit the link here. It is extremely important and strongly encouraged to keep copies and records of important paperwork in places where friends and family will be able to easily access them if ever needed. Be sure to also keep records of preferences of headstones and burial in a safe and easily accessible place.
More About Benefits:
All the veteran assistance benefits available to you each have their own perks and detailed information. Below, we will unpack what each benefit can entail…
Disability Compensation
It is possible to receive up to $3,400 every month with disability compensation. Rates may be even higher if you are unemployable due to your disability, have children and/or and spouse, have a spouse who is seriously disabled, and have loss of limb(s) due to your disability. VA Disability Compensation claims can be applied for through the VA.GOV website.
Veteran Assistance Pension Programs
Veterans over the age of 65 who served during wartime and are currently living on limited income, may qualify for pension. You may also quality for VA pension if you were discharged from the service (in other than honorable conditions), and served 90 days or more with at least one (1) of those days being a period of wartime, you are over the age of 65, or you are permanently disabled from being an active service member. Pension rates vary based on yearly income, and may not be available to those who make a significant amount of money per year.
Free or Low Cost Medical Care
All veteran medical services defined as “needed” are required by law to be provided for veterans. To have your treatment quality as “needed” the care or service must “promote, preserve, and restore health. This includes treatment, procedures, supplies, or services.” The final decision will usually be made by a healthcare provider. There are many places to find help with medical care, click here to view eligibility and find ways to apply.
Education Programs (GI Bill)
This bill provides educational eligibility to those who served, and helps cover costs for training and other educational services. There are multiple types of GI Bill Programs, and training services available with your GI Bill. Visit here to learn more about specific types of training and eligibility click here.
Housing and Home Loan Guarantees
A VA Home Loan can allow qualifying members to build homes, buy homes, and refinance homes for as little as $0 with no mandated cap. This is most definitely a great benefit to take advantage of. To qualify you must have completed a minimum of 90 days of active-duty service, 6 years in the reserves or national guard, or served 181 days of active service during peacetime. You may also qualify for small business loans. To read more on how to qualify for your VA Home or small business loan, visit here.
Job Training
The Veteran Employment and Training Service Program (VETS), helps those who have recently ended their military career. This program protects the employment rights of veterans, helps veterans find jobs, and provides job training. For more information and detail, visit here.
Counseling
Any veteran or active-duty military member is eligible for counseling. Those eligible for readjustment counseling include: any member who fought in combat, members with sexual trauma, and more. Counseling can also provide help to those with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). To learn more about counseling services and eligibilities, click here.