Follow
Share

For me at Home $7,800 at $260 per day?
We are both age 92 & former Army Officers in WW-2 she a Nurse, Me a Flying Officer in the Western Pacific, both currently receiving Aid & Assistance @ $1,418 mthly each, which is just under $95 per day, combined towards our combined, daily rate of $485 ($225 daily, wife; $260 daily, me). The daily "short-fall" is $390 & for 360 days is $140,000. A very steep sum, in dire need of help, swiftly. Kindly acknowledge @ your earliest convenience. Thank you.

This question has been closed for answers. Ask a New Question.
Find Care & Housing
There is a page on this site that may be able to give you some answers. Here is the Link to it just click on it ..hope it helps.
https://www.agingcare.com/Veterans-Assistance
Helpful Answer (1)
Report

The VA will take all your personal funds (income), then you both go into your states Medicaid program which picks up the rest. I've already checked, so unless VA has updated anything as of 2015, this is the solution. Check with your local VA clinic or veteran's center. Thank you both for your service! (My husband is also WWII, Korean, Vietnam vet with dementia).
Helpful Answer (1)
Report

Alvin -although VA's aid &attendance is a great program, it really only works best financially for minimal care / cost situations - like needing a caregiver a couple of days a week for those living in their home or to compensate a family member for their help or to help pay towards a monthly IL fee.

Once you are at the point of needing more costly daily care in a facility & there is not the funds to private pay even with A&A then most apply for medicaid. If there is a VA LTC facility that is another option as those cover all costs, although they seem to be few and far between. We have a spanking new one nearby us in Gulfport that has a 2 year waiting list with names from all over the US.

I would suggest you contact the social worker at the memory care facility to go through how best to apply for Medicaid. Hopefully this memory care takes medicaid so she does not have to move. But if not, the social worker should be able to come up with a list of facilities that do. Your wife & you may need to get medically showing in your medical file the need for a higher level of care if you want the both of you to go into a facility together. Often memory care is viewed as custodial care so her medical chart may need things changed to reflect her needed for more skilled nursing care which is what medicaid covers.

If she or you go onto Medicaid, A&A will stop paying the $1418 and will drop to about $100. But medicaid will pay for all of her care costs. She will have to continue to do a copay or her SOC (share of cost) of her monthly income (SS and any other retirement) to the facility under medicaid rules; if you need some of her income to continue to live at home, then you need to apply for CSRA. CSRA is community spouse resource allowance - I think of it as alimony for the spouse who did not go,into a facility. Its also called MMMNA - minimum monthly maintenance needs allowance.. CSRA varies by state & often you need an attorney to get the maximum. Based on what it was like for a couple of my friends parents, VA could take several months to process the change so she will continue to get the $1418 for a while but don't spend it as there will be a clawback on those payments.

The whole mice maze of VA, Medicaid, Medicare, can be overwhelming. For spouses, it is so much harder as your focus is on your wife and there are only so many hours in the day. Do you have family to help with all this? For couples, getting an elder care attorney to go over things can be valuable as there are things that work well for younger spouses but for elder ones pose a problem. Like most couples have each other as their life insurance beneficiary but once 1 goes onto Medicaid that is a bad idea as the insurance payment disqualifies then from medicaid & who is going to be there to deal with this for the NH spouse as the other spouse has died?

The majority of NH & Medicaid situations are widows or widowers and although it too has reams of paperwork, it is pretty straightforward in eligibility.Most of what you hear or read is all geared for solo elderly. For couples it's a lot more complex.
Helpful Answer (3)
Report

My dad is 93 landed on Iwo the first day and made it all 30 some days. THANK YOU BOTH for your service. My dad and I applied for VA benefits for my mom almost 6 years ago. We went through an attny that worked strictly for veterans. Helped us through all the red tape of how much money you are allowed to have. From the time we applied to the time we got it, it took about 3 to 4 mos. but was retro active to the day we applied. We paid him for his service (don't know if you do with the VA or not). When we first put my mom in her facility for alz/dem., I then sold my parents house and my dad moved into a retirement facility. When we moved in he had friends there that had gone through this attny themselves (which helped tremendously) and gave us his card. It went very smoothly and still is. He receives 2100.00 each month. Not sure if it will go up when he will start needing help. Hasn't gotten to that point yet. Hope this helps. Good Luck, God Bless and again thank you for your service.
Helpful Answer (1)
Report

Try 800-835-1541
veteransfinancial website
Helpful Answer (0)
Report

Someone had said there maybe a fee for helping with the appliction. I didn't get that impression at the seminar I went to. If she is a Vet she will get more than as a surviving spouse. I also got the impression it pays for homecare and facility care.
Helpful Answer (0)
Report

No personal experience here but I do have an acquaintence that has been getting Veteran;s benefits for her Mom. No Medicaid needed as the memory care facility does not accept medicaid
Helpful Answer (0)
Report

The paperwork I have says $1,113 surviving spouse, 1,732 single vet, $2,054 married Vet. a month.
Helpful Answer (1)
Report

Igloo572 has it covered. I'm in the middle of the same issues with my mom, who is the wife of a WWII veteran. (Married 35-years). They've been told by VA that they have too many assets. We have an eldercare attorney now helping sort this out. Will be changing stepdad's beneficiaries etc.
Helpful Answer (0)
Report

My father has congestive heart failure. The doctors said his heart is only beating 5 to 10 percent. And it will not improve. They suggested we put him in hospice care. We did. However, he can still move around, eat on his on, he even tries to cook his on food occasionally,... He does need help with his medicine, someone to watch him and make sure he doesn't fall, make his meals. . . He is retired from the U.S. Military and lives with my mother who is 80 years old. She tries to take care of him but it's to much for her to handle. Is there a program under the V A that will pay me (his daughter) for taking care of him everyday? I don't think he is ready for hospice at this time but he does need care. Does anyone have some suggestions or advice.
Helpful Answer (0)
Report

call 888-726-1772 for American Patriot Service Corp this is a wonderful organization to help. Good Luck
Helpful Answer (0)
Report

Adrienne, that's exactly what the Aid and Attendance is for
Helpful Answer (0)
Report

This question has been closed for answers. Ask a New Question.
Ask a Question
Subscribe to
Our Newsletter