By: Arthur Cooper
Submitted: 2011-01-28 14:56:30 | Word Count: 664
The Department of Veteran Affairs offers nursing home coverage for veterans, but there are strict guidelines. You can get this type of coverage for an elderly veteran either through the VA Healthcare system or through your state’s Veterans Homes system.
Qualifying veterans are those who:
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* Have a service related disability rating of 70% or more.
* Have a combined disability rating of 70% or more.
* Have an official rating of “permanent and totally disabled”, which means that he/she could Have a lower disability rating, but is not considered employable.
* Have a service related disability which has been medically determined to require nursing home care.
* Are veterans officially referred to as “Zero Percent”.
* Are non-service connected veterans that meet certain income/asset criteria
Other veterans who don’t meet the above criteria can be considered on a case by case basis if there is extra room at a nursing facility, but priority is given to service–connected vets who require acute care, such as those recovering from spinal cord injury and those needing hospice or geriatric care management, among others.
In other words, if you do not have a service-connected disability or fall below a certain income level, a VA nursing home will probably not consider you. Your other option is to try to get into a state veteran’s nursing home. These fill a gap for those who would like to spend their remaining years in the company of their old comrades. However, coverage is not guaranteed to anyone with practically any form of income. In fact, many state VA nursing homes mandate that a portion of the cost be covered by the family regardless. Another problem with this type of VA nursing home is that there is usually a long wait time to get into one, even if you have the money. While demand is very high, many states only have one such facility. A family looking to move an elderly vet there will have to wait sometimes for months to get in, especially if the veteran has Alzheimer’s.
Since many VA nursing homes have separate facilities to accommodate the large numbers of vets battling Alzheimer’s they receive, they are often overwhelmed. The constant need for skilled and licensed caregivers mean that VA nursing homes have to sometimes be very selective about their guidelines regarding accepting new veterans. It does depend on how many beds they have available, but often they have to weigh the number of patients against state guidelines that govern how they provide adequate care and the number of qualified staff they must have.
The upside is that VA nursing homes are normally more affordable than regular nursing homes. The reasons are manifold. First, both the federal government and state governments heavily subsidize them. Second, oftentimes whatever monetary amount has to come from the family can be directly taken out of the veteran’s monthly benefits, without added financial burden on the family. Medicaid also covers nursing care in some state VA nursing homes as well.
If you need to locate a VA nursing home, visit us at GeriCareFinder, where we can give you local results and inform you about how to select the right nursing home for an elderly veteran.
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