Veterans’ benefits can help with long-term care either at home or in an assisted living facility.
While most veterans’ benefits and pensions are based on a disability that was incurred during a veteran’s wartime service there is another program available for individuals who are disabled due to the issues of old age, such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis, and other physical disabilities. For those veterans and widows/widowers who are eligible, these benefits can provide relief for a disabled individual who is not yet ready for a nursing home.
Under this program, called a pension, a veteran can receive a maximum of $1,944.00 per month in benefits and a widow or widower can receive up to $976.00 as a maximum benefit for A and A for the year 2011. The applicant must be determined to be “permanently and totally disabled.” The applicant does not need to be helpless — only to show that he or she is in need of aid and assistance on a regular basis. Someone who is housebound or in an assisted living facility and over the age of 65 is presumed by the Veterans Administration to be in need of benefits.
Although planning for qualification for such benefits may involve transfers of assets, it should not be done without a thorough understanding of such transfers’ potential effect on future Medicaid eligibility.