Aging veterans, like all seniors, will need help with basic tasks as they age. Most seniors, especially military veterans, prefer to age in place rather than go to a nursing institution.

Veterans’ home care is a valuable benefit available to senior citizens who have served in the armed forces. Help with ADLs allows elderly veterans to age in place in their own homes, which is of great value to them. Veterans and their spouses may apply if they meet the requirements.

Learn more about the qualifications for the Veterans Home Care Program.

What Type of Care Does the VA Provide?

These programs and services may be accessible to you if you are a veteran or a caregiver for a veteran. The VA website contains additional details about qualifications. They can be accommodating and help you get in touch with a local caregiver or support coordinator who can point you toward the nearest VA medical center and related services. It is recommended that you contact your support coordinator if you need help. Benefits are available for the aged, the disabled, and the homebound. Your family member’s service to the country may qualify them for financial aid. Suppose you served during an appropriate wartime period and meet other age, financial, and health conditions. In that case, you may qualify for the A&A program, which gives financial aid to veterans to help them pay for long-term care.

Both A&A and the similar Housebound allowance, which is an increase in the pension for disabled or elderly veterans, have different requirements that the recipient must meet. Veterans’ income and assets limit eligibility for the programs, and they are designed to help those who have served their country and paid their dues.

Processing an application may take several months. It can take a full year to start getting benefits. However, if you get those benefits, they will return to the day you applied for them.

Some companies charge a fee to assist with A&A or a Housebound allowance application. You should be wary of “pension poaching,” a scam in which unscrupulous financial advisers convince veterans to make potentially disastrous financial decisions to qualify for additional benefits.

Instead, veterans can obtain free application assistance by calling one of the VA’s approved specialist providers, known as veteran service organizations (VSOs). You could also consult a lawyer specializing in estate planning or elder law.

You can use their online directory to locate a VSO in your area that the VA has approved. You can receive primary care in the comfort of your own home, which can be a game-changer for you and your family and make care a breeze for everyone involved.

Can a Caregiver Get Paid by the VA?

If you want to assist your elderly parents, they must participate in the Caregiver Support Program. You may be eligible for monthly reimbursement if you are the primary family caregiver. Your relative must be a qualified veteran. To participate in this program, participants must meet the following requirements: 

• The veteran must have a VA disability rating of 70% or higher.
• Any disability acquired while on active duty must have worsened on or after September 11, 2001, or on or before May 7, 1975.
• The VA must determine their “substantial” disability from military service.
• The veteran must have been officially released from the facility due to a medical condition.
• The loved one you’re caring for needs at least six months of continuous in-person attention.

The primary family caregiver must be over the age of 18. Although secondary caregivers may be eligible for optional services such as counseling, training, financial assistance, and housing, they do not receive the same benefits as primary caregivers. The caregiver must be the Veteran’s spouse, child, parent, stepfamily member, or extended family, or reside full-time with the Veteran (or be willing to live full-time with the Veteran). The Department of Veterans Affairs, Civilian Health, and Medical Programs, and the monthly payments they receive may be available to the Primary Family Caregiver. Caregiving takes a lot of energy. As a result, the VA may also offer up to 30 days of temporary relief each year.

How Much Does the VA Pay for a Caregiver?

To determine stipend amounts, VA uses the term “monthly stipend rate.” The Veteran’s home state or territory will determine the payment amount.

Caregivers of Veterans with varying degrees of disabilities will receive varying monthly payments from the VA.

Caregivers of disabled veterans who are more capable than the most disabled group will be eligible for Level 1 compensation. Pay at Level 1 is 62.5% of the monthly stipend rate.

Level 2 payments will be made to those who assist veterans who are unable to “self-sustain in the community,” which means they require continual supervision and assistance with three or more daily activities. The monthly stipend for Level 2 employees is double that of Level 1.

The vet’s PACT (Patient Aligned Care Team) will assess their need for assistance. The evaluation considers the amount of self-directed daily activity a veteran can perform.

How Long Does it Take for the VA to Approve a Caregiver?

In the caregiver program, there are two stages: Phase one of the VA caregiver program consists of family caregivers for veterans who suffered catastrophic service-related injuries on or after May 7, 1975.

Families of service members killed or severely wounded between May 7, 1975, and September 10, 2011, make up the second group.

Caregivers of post-9/11 veterans, and beginning in 2020, caregivers of Vietnam-era veterans, are eligible for benefits through the PCAFC program, while caregivers of injured veterans are eligible for benefits through the VCSP program. No matter the severity of the Veteran’s injuries, the PGCSS program has you covered.

How Long Will the VA Caregiver Program Last?

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has announced that benefits for caregivers who enrolled or applied (and were later accepted) to the program by October 1, 2020, will extend through September 30, 2025.

Caregivers of veterans who served between May 7, 1975, and September 10, 2001, will be eligible to participate in the PCAFC beginning on October 1, 2022. Previously, eligibility had been limited to those who had served in the Vietnam War or earlier and those who had sustained injuries on or after September 11, 2001.