If you know someone who served in the United States military and now they are having trouble tending to their own personal needs, then they may qualify for some form of veterans home care. What is veterans home care? In other words, what makes this type of care any different from other forms of home care?
Nothing, in the essence of the care itself. But everything if your loved one is a veteran. Being a veteran means that you served your country and were willing to sacrifice many things, including your own life, to defend your nation, freedom, family, and much more. Because these people gave so much of their time and energy, it only stands to reason that they be given the opportunity to live with dignity in the comfort of their own home when they reach an advanced age.
This means that, for some, money might be an issue and it could be interfering with their ability to afford home care. Thankfully, there is a benefit known as the Aid and Attendance pension that is available to military veterans who qualify. This pension could help to pay for home care and even live in care, if the veteran qualifies for it.
Does this mean that the military veteran would have to be a certain age? No, but if they are under the age of 65, then they would have to have been disabled and have qualified for some form of military disability. For any veteran who is over the age of 65, though, they wouldn’t need to meet that requirement. They would only need to show some need for home care for either health reasons or assistance with personal care.
This benefit is not available to every veteran, however. There are certain requirements that would need to be met in order to qualify for the VA Aid and Attendance Benefit. The first one is that they would have had to serve in one of the four major branches of the United States military, in active duty for at least 90 days. One of those days of service would have to have been during a time of conflict, such as World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, or the Gulf War.
If you believe that your loved one who is housebound and served would qualify for this benefit, contact the local VA to help them apply. There are also a number of resources that can help fill out these applications for your military veteran loved one.
