Aid and Attendance

A veteran in need may feel like he or she has nowhere to turn. This is especially true when those veterans are dealing with depression or other serious emotional or mental challenges, such as post-traumatic stress disorder. Some veterans, regardless of age, may require home care support services.Aid-and-Attendance

What happens if they can’t afford a home care aide?

Veterans who may be on a limited income, such as a disability pension, may not have extra money left over at the end of the month. The thought of paying for a home care aide seems absurd. However, they still need help, so they might turn to family members or friends for whatever assistance they can get.

They might not have any idea when somebody will be able to stop by and help them with various tasks. They wait and wait and eventually try to do things on their own. That can lead to increased risks of injuries and other accidents.

That’s where the Aid and Attendance Benefit may come into play.

The Aid and Attendance Benefit is a pension program developed by the VA following World War I. It was initially intended to provide support for soldiers returning from battle. Some of those soldiers were dealing with serious physical injuries while others were learning to cope with what was then called shellshock. Shellshock eventually became known as post-traumatic stress disorder.

Through the years the pension was expanded to provide financial assistance to veterans of all ages who could show that home care support services was an absolute necessity at that point in their life.

For veterans who qualify, this pension could provide funds for hiring a home care aide. In order to qualify, veterans need to have been honorably discharged from service, served at least 90 days active duty service with a minimum of one day falling during a time of combat, such as World War II, the Korean War, or the Vietnam War. For those veterans who served during the Gulf War, they need to have served two years active duty.

Income and assets also need to be limited in order to qualify. As for their time of active combat, veterans do not need to have served in a forward combat situation or have seen combat in any way. That provision simply refers to their time in service needing to overlap, at least by one day, a time of official combat as defined by Congress.

 

If you or a loved one are considering the Aid and Attendance benefit, please contact the friendly staff at Veterans Care Coordination. Call today: 1-855-777-4693

 

Posted in Aid and Attendance

About Kyle Laramie, Founder & CEO

Kyle founded Veterans Care Coordination in April 2011. As its founder and CEO of VCC, Kyle is driven by the memory of his grandfather, a World War II Veteran who unnecessarily missed out on essential VA benefits because Kyle’s family wasn’t aware of available opportunities. In recognition of his impact in leadership, Kyle was named to the St. Louis Business Journal’s prestigious “40 Under 40” list and St. Louis Small Business Monthly’s “100 St. Louisans to Know” in 2014. VCC was named a St. Louis Small Business Monthly “Top 20” small business and a finalist for the St. Louis Post Dispatch Top Workplace (2015-2022), St. Louis Business Journal Best Place to Work (2019 & 2022), and the Arcus Awards (2014). The team has served more than 14,000 Veteran clients and their families. Kyle frequently speaks on Veterans’ benefits, addressing conferences such as the Home Care Association of America and Decision Health. He is passionate about giving back and has built a charitable-minded organization that supports various philanthropic efforts.