A&A Assisted Living Catch-22

[grandmat]

I am new to the forum (and to the veterans benefits process), so thank you in advance for any help you can provide. My grandmother is the surviving spouse of a WWII veteran. She is struggling to remain in the community, and she and her physician are both in agreement that she would benefit from moving to an assisted living facility. While in the community, her income (minus her medical expenses) exceeds the income restrictions for A&A, leaving her ineligible for support. However, the monthly fee for the assisted living facility she hopes to move to exceeds her total income (whether we factor in medical expenses or not). I have been told that my grandmother must already reside in the assisted living facility (and, therefore, essentially have a negative income) to be eligible for A&A; however, she cannot move in without the additional support. She has a very limited savings account that may be able to cover the full cost of the assisted living facility for 2-3 months, but everything I've read suggests it is unlikely that her A&A application would be processed in that amount of time. So, in essence, it appears she is in a Catch-22 situation: She cannot qualify for A&A without already living in an assisted living facility, but she cannot move into an assisted living facility without A&A support. What can we do? Again, I am very new to this process and would appreciate any suggestions or help. Thank you.

[vetadmin]

It is a bit of a catch 22 situation. 

What you could do is to have a family member care for her at her home and have her pay them bringing her income down to zero, and make the application.  Once she starts receiving it, then move her into the ALF, or move her in and the family pays the difference until award is made.

Many families face this issue, and most have to do a private pay on the difference until the award is granted.  A lot of ALFs will work with the family and accept a lower rate if they know the resident will qualify, and once they do, the rate goes up to what it would normally be.  You might want to talk with the facility you are looking to move her to and see if they can work with you.

[VSR]

Many assisted living facilities familiar with the pension program are also aware of the wait time and are usually willing to float their residents until the retroactive check arrives.

[romalynn]

We were able to place our adopted Dad, Edward, into an assisted living home and then applied for A&A.  They waived part of the rent and non refundable deposit until he was awarded.  It took four and one half months, and then we paid the balance off entirely.  He was getting 1063 a month Social Security, and they let him pay only 950 per month till his award.

Not sure if any near you would do this or not.  We are in the state of Washington.