Would A&A help?

[LoriJFL867]

Hi,
I'm not sure where to start, so any advice would be greatly appreciated. I am trying to help my grandparents, who are in their mid-80's. My grandfather was in the Navy and has received assistance from the VA hospital in the past for hearing aids, etc., but I don't believe he is officially enrolled in the A&A program.

They have both reached a point where they need assistance with daily medication and occasional doctor visits. Both have some level of dementia. They cannot remember to refill prescriptions and often forget to take their medication, which has ended up with each of them in the hospital or ER several times over the last year or so. And having their medication set up for them each week in one of those pill boxes doesn't help. Among other issues, he is diabetic and refuses to check his blood sugar until he can hardly walk. When they go to the doctor, they get confused and don't remember what they should tell the doctor or what the doctor says for them to do. They do have a couple of family members around and more than willing to help, but we have full time jobs and can't be with them every day. Other than this, they do pretty well living on their own. They take care of their home and can definitely clean and dress themselves. However, I don't think they are good about planning ahead and keeping food in the house, so they often go out for meals when they really can't afford it.

So my question is this...does the A&A program help in a situation like this? I think if we could get someone to come by each day to make sure the prescriptions are filled and they are taking the right medication, attend any doctor visits with them, and possibly help to make sure they have food in the house, it would go a long way in helping them to stay independent.

I understand that we would need to complete forms to apply for this program, but I just wanted to get some insight before we approach them about it. They are both scared to death that someone is going to send them to a nursing home, so it's a very sensitive situation any time we discuss any kind of assistance.

Thanks so much for any information you can provide!

[VSR]

Hi Lori,

In short, yes, pension w/ aid and attendance may be able to help him.

That being said, there are quite a few things you should do immediately to make sure he gets the greatest benefit to which he is entitled.

First and foremost, you should have him submit an informal claim.  An informal claim is defined as any signed correspondence from a claimant that shows the intent to file for benefits.  In this case, he should sign a statement saying "I would like to file an informal claim for pension benefits with aid and attendance" and submit it to the nearest pension management center of jurisdiction (if you need to know what jurisdiction he is under, let me know where you are).

After that, you just need to hire the caregiver and submit:

VA Form 21-526
VA Form 21-2680
Care expense statement (showing monthly cost of care)

Let me know if you have further questions and I would be happy to walk you through it.