Home Health Care Benefits for Veterans
November 12th, 2008 | Published in Veteran Benefits | 16 Comments
While most veteran benefits are geared toward combat veterans or service-related disabilities, health care is not one of those benefits. The Veterans Administration provides a Medical Benefits Package that applies to all veterans except those with a dishonorable discharge.
The Medical Benefits Package is based on active military service and not limited to combat service. There are more services available at more intensive levels for those with service-connected disabilities rated at 70% or more. Both men and women veterans are subject to the same levels of service which are described in the Medical Benefits Package available online or from the Veterans Administration.
Home Health Care
Home Health Care is professional medical or therapeutic services offered in the home of a veteran with chronic diseases or are homebound due to accident, injury or service-connected disability. Nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy or a range of social services are available through the Veterans Administration for eligible veterans. The VA will make the total, partial or marginal payment for the necessary services.
Some examples of needs that can be filled by home health care benefits include:
• Homemaker services for grocery shopping, housecleaning or cooking
• Home Health Aides will assist with personal care activities
• Nursing professionals to monitor medications or post-surgical dressing changes
• Physical therapists identify and assist with strength/mobility issues
• Occupational therapists help with re-learning daily activities after stroke or neurological injury or disease
• Speech therapists identify and assist in issues where re-learning is necessary, both speaking and word identification
Any of these services are available to eligible veterans for intermittent, transitional or short-term on a needs-determined basis according to the Veterans Administration. Other health care programs which may be available to the veteran must be utilized first. Skilled home health care through the VA is available after any other health care program benefits have been exhausted and an on-going need is determined by the VA.
Outsourcing Care Where Necessary
The Veterans Healthcare Agency may find it necessary to seek services from state-licensed community resources for a time period not to exceed 30 days if that agency has the available staffing and the VA does not. A Determination of Need must be issued by the VA after evaluations are completed and the veteran is awarded and placed with the appropriate agency for service.
There are waiting lists, eligibility lists and enrollment lists. All of these are maintained in accordance with allotted annual budgetary monies available for these services. The Electronic Waiting List is for veterans in need, or are seeking, home health care and budget resources have been drained.
Purchased Home Health Care Services
When money is not available to provide home health care, the veteran is wait-listed. Priority in budgeting goes to eligible veterans who have, or are in need of, nursing home care due to a service-connected disability rated at 50% or more. Of course, any veteran who needs home health care and is willing to purchase all or part of the services will be accommodated. The veteran who is purchasing home health care is able to request specific resources which will be considered.
One-third of veterans receiving purchased home health care will be contacted to ensure that authorized services are being received as expected. This monitoring is part of the upgraded quality control put in place by the Veterans Administration.
Enrollment Restrictions
The past several years have brought an influx of combat veterans from Afghanistan and Iraq. As a result, certain eligibility restrictions for access to health care benefits have been implemented. The Secretary is required by law to make adjustments in eligibility. All veterans are still eligible for health care benefits, but for now they are wait-listed. This also means that specialized areas of health care, such as home health care requests, are going to be scrutinized more than any time in the past. Frequent changes in eligibility will be posted at www.va.gov/healtheligibility and all home health care information is located in publication 1140.6 which can be printed from http://www1.va.gov/vhapublications/ViewPublication.asp?pub_ID=1139.
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August 6th, 2009 at 5:13 pm (#)
Hi, My father has Parkinsons and cannot be left on his own anymore. I am trying to find out if he will have any coverage for health care benefits. He served in the Air Force for 20 years and retired.I know he has Champus and Tri-Care. Any information would be so helpful.Thank You
August 31st, 2009 at 5:32 pm (#)
Do you have coverage for Borrego Springs, California?
November 6th, 2009 at 6:21 pm (#)
need to talk to joanna harris on home health care. iam 91 years old live in apt with wife . cant afford to pay for help. sam
March 18th, 2010 at 4:22 pm (#)
I going back to school for health care administration and while doing research for a paper I came across this website that might help. http://www.veteranshomecare.com. Their phone number is 1-877-390-6377 and they are also based out of St. Louis, Missouri. Hope this helps.
March 29th, 2010 at 3:49 pm (#)
I have just become employed at the Veterans Clinic in Macon and am getting phone calls about Veterans Home health care benefits regarding the Vet coming home from the hospital and requiring care and help at home. Where can I get help with these questions and what paper work do I need to start filling out to help these famlies with disabled older and unwell Vets.
April 2nd, 2010 at 1:48 am (#)
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May 2nd, 2010 at 9:13 pm (#)
I have an 85 year old uncle who is a veteran and lives in Bronx, N.Y. He is blind and recently had a stroke. Upon being released from the hospital, he was provided home health care assistance but then was cut off because he is not eligible for Medicaid. I don’t believe he has ever accessed the VA Healthcare system or any other VA benefits. Where do I start? I live in California and I’m attempting to assist long distance.
May 3rd, 2010 at 3:10 pm (#)
I would start by contacting a VA hospital near him. Try this link to find a local hospital and hopefully they can begin to answer some of your questions: http://www2.va.gov/directory/guide/division_flsh.asp?dnum=1
Also this is a link with a phone number you can call to contact someone about his benefits: http://www4.va.gov/healtheligibility/ Good luck!
May 18th, 2010 at 6:41 am (#)
my husband is a 76 yoa vetran who served in korea and vietnam twice….he has alzheimers disease and has really deteriorated in th past few years. i have a full time job(because i have to) and do not like to leave him home alone. is there any assistance for us to have someone stay with him while i’m at work ? i work the night shift dispatching 911 from 6pm to 6am and my off days rotate to differant days of the week.please advise me if there is any assistance i can get to help with the cost of someone sitting with him while i’m at work. or if there is someone the va will send in to help me. he is able to take care himself but is getting worse…he can feed himself, bathe, and get around with assistance. i just worry that he will leave the house or get into something that will be harmful to himself. he did leave in the truck one time but we found him about 150 miles from home (and no longer has any keys to the truck). any information will be greatly appreciated for i have been taking care of him on my own for eight years and really need some help………thank you so much, nancy smith
May 18th, 2010 at 6:44 am (#)
correction from nancy smith. my husband can bathe,eat,dress himself and get around WITHOUT any assistance.
June 2nd, 2010 at 9:29 am (#)
Help Me please! I have my mom with beginning stage of Alzheimers and she is in a retirement home but needs someone to come twice a day to make sure she is taking her medicines. My dad was in WWII and served as a Flyer Tiger, Airforce. He has passed away. My mom should have some type of home health care coverage provided by the government since she is a widor of a verteran. What do I need to do to get this home health care service for her as soon as possible. Paula
June 2nd, 2010 at 11:57 am (#)
Thank you for getting in touch with us Paula. There are a few different organizations that I know of that you can contact. You can contact Linda with Veteran Care Giver at http://www.veterancaregiver.com/register.aspx. Also Veteran Aid is great organization. You can reach them at http://www.veteranaid.org/. We’ve done interviews with both of those organizations if you’d like to look into them further. You can also contact or locate a local VA office for help as well to see if your mom qualifies for VA benefits: http://www1.va.gov/health/
I hope this helps. Keep us posted!
June 11th, 2010 at 11:07 am (#)
My father is a WWII combat veteran . He is 90 years old and currently has been hospitalized for the past 6 weeks with multiple complications. He is currently insured by Kaiser, and has signed over Medicare coverage to Kaiser.
We were asked in a meeting recently if he has secondary coverage, which he does not.
Could you please inform me of what benefits he may be entitled to from the VA? What procedure must I follow if he is entitled? Given his current condition, time is of the essence. How long would it take for him to receive these benefits? Lastly, is home health care included in these benefit? Thanks for any assistance you may provide.
June 14th, 2010 at 4:49 pm (#)
Robert Bender has had a stroke and has lost physical ability to take care of himself. He has Medicare. What are the options for Nursing Home Facility or staying at home Help.
Thanks for any help.
June 17th, 2010 at 10:04 am (#)
To both Doug and Robert, thanks so much for contacting us! I would recomment contacting Linda through Veteran Caregiver: http://veterancaregiver.com/ Or try Debbie with Veteran Aid: http://www.veteranaid.org/. They are far more familiar with the ins and outs of how you might go about getting the help you need.
July 9th, 2010 at 11:55 am (#)
I am taking care of my father, a retired veteran with 20 years of service. I have begun the search for veterans benefits, in particular home health care.
I have found the system to be vague and convuluted. It is, in my opinion, a joke. You literally need an attorney to understand the system. I wonder if this form of health benefit/care is coming for all of us?
In conclusion, I will continue to try to piece together the necessary information, but am constantly amazed at how the government can create such a mess. The reality is, my father will probably die before I figure it out.