Assisted living is really expensive, but unfortunately is a part of life when it comes to getting older. The fact of the matter is the longer that you live the more medical care that you’re going to require. This means that you’re going to run into the need for ways to pay for this, and if you’re a service veteran there may be ways that the government can help. Something you’re going to find is that there are great VA benefits for assisted living offered by the government, so long as you qualify for them. You have to ensure that you both qualify, as well as apply correctly, and you can get great benefits for the top care everyone deserves.
What you’re going to find going in is that assisted living is really expensive, which is what makes finding the right type of care so hard and such a pain. On average, some facilities can cost in excess of $2,000 a week for your care. That’s why it’s so invaluable to have some form of insurance or some form of help to really bring that cost down quite a bit. That’s why you want to find out the status of the veterans administration benefits for assisted living that you qualify for, so that you can get the help in paying your costs that you so desperately need:
1) Make sure you have a copy of your honorably discharged papers.
This is really important, so that you can show that you were a member in good standing with the military, and that you were discharged honorably. That’s the first step to getting veterans administration benefits of any kind, let alone assisted living bonuses. But without these forms, your application is never going to go through, so it’s really important that you have your paperwork in order, to be sure that you’re able to start your way to getting the benefits you deserve.
2) From here, you want to talk to your doctor to make sure you have a medical reason for moving.
The only time that VA benefits for assisted living become available to you, is if the move is of a medical nature. That means if you cannot care for yourself, or require some sort of special treatment that means having a nurse there to take care of you. But if you just want to move, or if your family is looking to move you so that they don’t have to care for you, that’s not going to be grounds to access your benefits. The process can get a bit tricky here, but so long as you have medical reasoning to support you, you should be fine.
3) Your assets also have to fall below a certain amount.
Unfortunately in the filing process for VA benefits for assisted living, you’re going to find that your assets have to fall below a certain amount. While the amount can change at any time, because of the way that laws are constantly evolving and updating, most typically it falls just below six figures. That means including your home as well as income and saved money, you have to have less than that amount when it comes time to get your benefits. Otherwise it will be seen as you having the means to cover the costs, and then your benefits are not going to kick in.
4) Finally, this is where applying can get a little bit tricky.
Even if you meet the other three requirements, something that you’re going to find is that you have to already be living in an assisted living facility. That means before you have the money to afford your living status, you have to be living there in order to apply for benefits. Most typically, because of the stringent financial requirements, this is going to mean that you will be facing near financial ruin trying to pay for your time in the facility.
That’s why you want to look up and ensure that you meet all the requirements for VA benefits for assisted living, before you move into the home. You can’t afford to get rejected here, as this is really the last card that you’re going to have to play. That’s why doing your research can be so important, and why it’s going to pay off for you to be totally prepared before you apply. Getting VA benefits nursing homes isn’t impossible, but it can be a hassle, so you want to be as prepared as possible for the road you’re going to have to go down.