"aid And Attendance" An Under-used Benefit

[Guest allan]

Recent VA News Releases

To view and download VA news release, please visit the following

Internet address:

http://www.va.gov/opa/pressrel

Secretary Nicholson: VA Reaches Out to Veterans and Spouses

"Aid and Attendance" an Under-Used Benefit

WASHINGTON (Dec. 19, 2006) - The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is

reaching out to inform wartime veterans and surviving spouses of

deceased wartime veterans about an under-used, special monthly pension

benefit called Aid and Attendance.

"Veterans have earned this benefit by their service to our nation," said

Secretary of Veterans Affairs Jim Nicholson. "We want to ensure that

every veteran or surviving spouse who qualifies has the chance to

apply."

Although this is not a new program, not everyone is aware of his or her

potential eligibility. The Aid and Attendance pension benefit may be

available to wartime veterans and surviving spouses who have in-home

care or who live in nursing-homes or assisted-living facilities.

Many elderly veterans and surviving spouses whose incomes are above the

congressionally mandated legal limit for a VA pension may still be

eligible for the special monthly Aid and Attendance benefit if they have

large medical expenses, including nursing home expenses, for which they

do not receive reimbursement.

To qualify, claimants must be incapable of self support and in need of

regular personal assistance.

The basic criteria for the Aid and Attendance benefit include the

inability to feed oneself, to dress and undress without assistance, or

to take care of one's own bodily needs. People who are bedridden or

need help to adjust special prosthetic or orthopedic devices may also be

eligible, as well as those who have a physical or mental injury or

illness that requires regular assistance to protect them from hazards or

dangers in their daily environment.

For a wartime veteran or surviving spouse to qualify for this special

monthly pension, the veteran must have served at least 90 days of active

military service, one day of which was during a period of war, and be

discharged under conditions other than dishonorable.

Wartime veterans who entered active duty on or after September 8, 1980,

(October 16, 1981, for officers) must have completed at least 24

continuous months of military service or the period for which they were

ordered to active duty.

If all requirements are met, VA determines eligibility for the Aid and

Attendance benefit by adjusting for un-reimbursed medical expenses from

the veteran's or surviving spouse's total household income. If the

remaining income amount falls below the annual income threshold for the

Aid and Attendance benefit, VA pays the difference between the

claimant's household income and the Aid and Attendance threshold.

The Aid and Attendance income threshold for a veteran without dependents

is now $18,234 annually. The threshold increases to $21,615 if a

veteran has one dependent, and by $1,866 for each additional dependent.

The annual Aid and Attendance threshold for a surviving spouse alone is

$11,715. This threshold increases to $13,976 if there is one dependent

child, and by $1,866 for each additional child.

Additional information and assistance in applying for the Aid and

Attendance benefit may be obtained by calling 1-800-827-1000.

Applications may be submitted on-line at

www.vabenefits.vba.va.gov/vonapp/main.asp. Information is also

available on the Internet at www.va.gov or from any local veterans

service organization.

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[Pete53]

After many years and a lot of encourgement on Hadit especially my good internet friend John9999 I filed my claim for Housebound yesterday as I put it in the mail and included the Physicians Statement from my VA Primary Doc who diagonsed me with Depression and Panic Disorder and further went on tro elaborate that I stayed at home most of the time, avoided social situations and only really was dependble about Doc appointments.

[john999]

Congrats Pete

I bet you get it with a little effort.

John King

[dougbo1943]

Pete

I wish you the best on your claim for housebound. I would think that the statement from your Primary Doctor would go a long way.

Gunny

[Guest rickb54]

Pete,

Let us know how it goes. I would apply to execpt that I do not have a single problem rated 100%. The va has really made it too hard for veterans to get housebound. Many veterans are housebound but do not have a single 100% rating the rules need to be changed. There are a lot of veterans like myself in a wheelchair that are housebound but do not meet the preset qualifications.

[john999]

Rick

If I was you I would file anyway and see what happens. They might bump you up to 100% and then award the HB. They have done that before. If you are not HB who is?

[Pete53]

Rick:

I agree with John if someone who is stuck at home in a wheel chair is not Housebound who is. It seems that for some reason the VA is on a push to grant more Housebound as they never publicize anything that they don't want to give out.

One proviso is that anyone who puts in a claim must be aware it can spark a review of their present evaluation ot the hammer they hold over us. I figured that since I had a brand new diagnosis from my own VA Doc it would be hard for them to go against that.