Your father thought he would qualify for the Aid and Attendance Benefit, and when he needed home care support services, he decided to apply. However, he recently received a letter stating that he did not qualify for this particular pension.
That can be frustrating.
In order to be considered for this pension, which is designed to provide financial support to qualifying veterans who need some type of home care support services, there are a wide range of qualifications to be met. The application can take quite a while to fill out and it can take several months to hear back on approval.
If your father had decided to hire a home care aide or other caregiver in the meantime, hoping for reimbursement because he assumed he would be approved for it, this can be a costly issue. So, should he reapply?
First, that all depends on his reason for being denied.
Did he not qualify on all the provisions? Basically, your father needs to have served at least 90 days active duty and a minimum of one day of active duty service needs to have overlapped a time of official combat. This would be World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. Of course, if he served during the Gulf War, he would need to have served a minimum of two years active duty.
On top of that, he needs to be honorably discharged from service, have a specific and documentable need for home care services, and meet certain income and asset threshold limits. If he was denied because of his time of service or some other factor thereof, it may not make sense to reapply.
Was there any information he submitted that was inaccurate?
If he didn’t fill out certain questions, that could be grounds for being denied this or some other pension through the VA. If he is given approval to resubmit his application, then he should make sure every question is answered openly and honestly and then resubmit the application.
Did his financial situation change?
Finally, if your father’s financial situation changed and he believes he was denied this pension because of his income and asset levels, he may be eligible to reapply. It’s extremely important that every veteran fills out these applications thoroughly and as honestly as possible. Failing to do that could lead to denial of service and financial assistance, which could be instrumental at helping them get the home care they may need.
