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  July 2006 Back to Table of Contents Back to Archives Main Page Section: Being Well Consider Veterans’ Benefits By Toby Laping, Ph. D., C.S.W., Private Care Manager As health care costs increase, it’s reasonable to look around for alternative, cost effective ways of paying for care. One option for many to consider is the Veteran’s Administration. It merits attention for veterans and for their spouses.
A veterans’ nursing home in Batavia is available to vets and their spouses. The cost of care there is often subsidized as a benefit that significantly cuts the daily rate of nursing home care. Or, a month of free care may be available for veterans going into nursing homes. Financial help may be available to vets or their spouses who live in adult care facilities. The list goes on. Contrary to popular belief, a service-related injury resulting in disability is not a prerequisite to going to the VA. However, an honorable discharge is usually a prerequisite for accessing veterans’ services, and also one generally must be enrolled in the VA health system. Other variables that may be significant include length of service, whether one has a service-connected disability and if so, the percentage of disability that has been assigned. Income levels often affect service cost. Assets also may affect eligibility. A disability rating is also significant. A service-connected disability is one that the VA has ruled occurred or was aggravated in the line of duty; the VA assigns a rating to that disability. If the rating is 70-80%, one can receive complete nursing home care at no cost. Benefits that are available are not static. Instead, they vary depending upon resources that have been made available to the VA for health related services. For example, veterans going to nursing homes from the VA hospital will often have the first month of their nursing home stay paid for by the VA; years ago the VA paid for the first six months. The VA now often provides $1,400 monthly to veterans living in adult care facilities and $900 monthly to their spouses. That represents a significant means of income to vets and to the facilities in which they live. If health care and prescriptions become prohibitive, it makes sense to consider the veterans’ system. This is not for everyone. Changing from providers you like and a system that works for you may be unwise since the VA is often not an easy system to navigate. But it might be worth thinking about. www.wnycaremanager.com back to top back to table of contents Current Issue | About Forever Young | Where to Find | Advertise | Our Advertisers | Community Calendar | Contest | Clubs | Contact Us | Archives | Home |
