Denied Aid and Attendance Even Though You Know You Qualified? The Next Steps Could Be Long, but Worthwhile…

It’s been more than a few months.  In fact, it’s already been more than nine months since you helped your elderly father fill out the Aid and Attendance Benefit application.  As a veteran who served during the Korean War, because of his limited pension, Social Security payments, and need for home care support, you believed, honestly, that this benefit was a slam dunk.

 

You helped him fill it out and submitted it right away…

But it took so long to hear back. You called a representative at the local VA several times for some updates, but they couldn’t give you anything more than a generic, “The application must still be in processing.”

Now, though, you have heard back.

Your father was denied. You can’t figure it out.  You’re sitting there holding the letter, looking at the words, but it doesn’t make sense.  How could your father be denied the Aid and Attendance Benefit when he met every single requirement? His doctor recommended he have a home care aide supporting him every day for long-term care.

He served at least one day of his active duty service during a time of official combat, which in his case with the Korean War. He served well more than the minimum 90 days active duty service. Even if he had served time during the Gulf War, he still served a lot more than the minimum two years active duty service for that combat situation.

His income and assets were extremely limited.

Before this year, determining a person’s application for the Aid and Attendance Benefit could have been a bit more subject to interpretation.  Right now, though, combined income and assets cannot exceed $80,000, and that may not include a primary residence and one vehicle.

You just can’t figure it out.

You start contacting the VA, you’re being directed from one person to the next, and you’re getting annoyed and frustrated.  You’re helping your father pay for a home care aide in the meantime through an agency because you were told reimbursement would likely occur as well once the approval came through.

Now you don’t know what to do.

The best thing is to be persistent. If there is absolutely no reason why your father would have been denied this pension, keep pursuing it.  The amount of money he or you can save over many years can be tremendous, and since this pension was designed to help veterans in need, don’t give up. Let us do the work for you here at VCC.

If you or a loved one are considering hiring aging Veterans Care, please contact the friendly staff at Veterans Care Coordination™. Call today: 1-855-380-4400