Long Term Care Benefits for Veterans

By Jason Van Steenwyk

According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, more than 35,000 veterans receive nursing home care on any given day. They receive this care through three primary care channels: VA community living centers, or CLCs, community nursing homes and State Veterans Homes. That said, resources to provide this care for veterans are limited, and as a result, only a small percentage of veterans qualify for nursing home or long-term care services through the VA.

To qualify for VA nursing home care, veterans must have a service-connected disability rating of 70 percent or more, or must prove that the nursing home care is medically necessary and that the disability arises from an illness or injury related to military service. Alternatively, a veteran can show that he is 60 percent disabled as a result of a service-connected incident or condition, and is either unemployable or rated "permanently and totally disabled."

The VA offers a spectrum of services for those requiring long-term care assistance on an outpatient basis or through community-based care. Non-institutional services include home-based care, skilled care, adult day care services, home health aide and homemaker services, and hospice care. Any veteran who is enrolled in the VA health care system is eligible for these services.

The VA subsidizes state efforts to build and run homes for disabled and aging veterans. The federal government helps fund construction and provides $67.71 per day for each veteran served by these homes. Benefits sometimes are extended to the veteran's nonveteran spouse.

If you do not qualify for VA long-term care, you can also purchase private long-term care insurance. Policies vary, but long-term care insurance plans are available to cover a broad continuum of care from home care to adult day care to skilled nursing facilities to hospice care. You must generally be in good health to qualify for long-term care insurance, though some employers offer long-term care as an employee benefit, occasionally on a guaranteed-issue basis.

http://www.lenderva.com