The Veteran’s Aid & Attendance Benefit has often been called “The VA’s best-kept secret.”
This non-service-connected pension benefit is specifically meant to help wartime veterans with unreimbursed medical expenses. Your spouse is even eligible, if qualified.
Medical eligibility for this benefit is determined by any one of three factors:
1) You are over 65.
2) You are permanently disabled and unable to work.
3) You are home-bound and in need of regular attention. You don’t have to be in your own home, however. You can be at
home, assisted/supportive living or in a nursing home. The program is based on financial need, so there are income and
asset limitations.
You also have to meet certain service and financial criteria to qualify.
The program allows for the following benefit amounts (2012 figures):
Married wartime veteran – Up to $2,019 per month tax-free
Single wartime veteran – Up to $1,703 per month tax-free
Widowed spouse of a wartime veteran – Up to $1,094 per month tax-free
To get this benefit, though, you need to understand how the VA views income. They use a system called Income for VA Purposes (IVAP). The formula used to calculate this figure is gross income minus recurring medical expenses (UMEs). This includes doctor’s fees, dentist’s fees, Medicare premiums and copayments, health insurance premiums, transportation costs to physician’s offices, assisted living facilities charges and in-home aides.
At Martha C. Brown & Associates, LLC, we help people to become eligible for and even file for VA or Medicaid benefits. We have also helped them with comprehensive estate planning, wills, trusts, powers of attorney, asset protection, and long-term care planning.
We know the ropes and we’ll get you through. We’re just a phone call away.
