Countable expenses

[Caroliso]

the language in the searchable reference database on the VA site says this about countable expenses:

# A portion of unreimbursed medical expenses paid by the claimant after VA receives the claimant's pension claim may be deducted.   (These are expense you have paid for medical services or products for which you will not be reimbursed by Medicare or private medical insurance.)
# Certain other expenses, such as a veteran's education expenses, and in some cases, a portion of the educational expenses of a child over 18 are deductible.

I'm left with questions about what's in and what's out.  Obviously medical insurance, doctor's office co-pays, prescriptions, etc. are in. How about the following:

- depends
- chux (waterproof pads for bed, furniture or floor)
- waterproof bed pads/liners, etc.
- exam gloves
- nutritional drinks like Boost, Ensure
- no-rinse body wash

for my dad these are all OTC products required to make his medical condition manageable.  can I count them?  Is there some other reference that discusses this in more detail?   I had thought they weren't includable, but then I saw a post in another section on this forum, can't find it at the moment, where someone detailed her successful application, and upon further examination discovered that depends were permissible.

Thanks in advance

[vetadmin]

Do NOT count their residence or vehicle when estimating net worth.

Do NOT count a life insurance policy (because the policy holder must be
deceased in order to benefit from it).

DO count CDs, annuities, stocks, bonds, savings, checking, IRAs, Keogh,
etc.

DO count any assets owned by the spouse as well.

As a rule of thumb, assets should not exceed $80,000. That amount drops
depending on the age of claimant.

List below the estimated ANNUAL income of the veteran or surviving spouse:

 Estimate total income (If married include spousal income): ______

All income must be included. This includes social security, pension,
interest income, dividends, income from rental property, etc.

If the veteran is married, then any spousal income must also be included.

List all unreimbursed, recurring health care expenses:

 This includes:

 Assisted Living costs (per month): _________________

 Nursing Home costs (per month):________________

 Home Care service (per month):_______________

 Health Insurance premium (per month):_______________

 Medicare premium (per month):_________________

 Regular (unreimbursed) prescriptions
 (per month & verifiable through a pharmacy print-out): _____________

 TOTAL Expenses per month: __________
 (multiply x 12 to get total annual expenses)

Subtract your total annual health care expenses from your total annual
income and write the amount here: _____________. This is your "countable" income

[Caroliso]

yes, thanks, I do have that from your previous posts under other questions.