Does anyone know if VA pension for Aid & Attendance will stop if you get Hospice to help also?

As with porchpickles, my mom also recieves aid and hospice. My dad is a veteran and we applied for spouse benefits. She is in a facility and because of her decline a year and half ago she started with hospice every morning til noon and then the aides and the facility stepped in when she left. He still receives the benefits during this period. A social worker or Hospice company can walk you through all of the info. And yes, VA does take time but we were lucky and it only took 2 or 3 mos. to get and they retro act it meaning the mos. you were waiting to be accepted you will receive that when you get your first or second check. Hope that makes sense. I just reread it :)) God Bless

hi..i got my moms doc. to order hospice, and the social worker with hospice helped me with the aid& attendance ....i understand hospice will pay for everything related to your mothers decline... make sure your doc says what's wrong with her, such as "cognitive decline , if the doc. just says "dementia", hospice will NOT take on your moms case... call the hospice people, they will guide you to the right info.... my mom gets both aid& attendance, and hospice.... good luck!

Dealing with the VA can be painful but in our experience, which has probably been more positive than others' experience, most VA employees want to help the veteran within the constraints they find themselves. We recommend calling the VA benefits hotline and investing an hour or so on hold. Another option is to go in person to your local Regional Office and speak with someone there. If you're relying on the VA's IRIS email inquiry system, we've found that takes upward of a month to get a response from the Regional Office.

Alternatively, IF your mom is receiving care via a VA Medical Center, you could call them BUT we recommend speaking with a social worker who deals with this on a day-to-day basis.

A doctor can write an order for Hospice to assess the situation to determine if Hospice services are appropriate. Original Medicare covers Hospice services. You will need to understand the benefits and limitations of Hospice services, if your mother is appropriate. I don't know the answer to your question. Hospice is not listed as an exclusion. You don't say who the veteran is or who the aid & assistance is for. It sounds like the aid & assistance is for your father - you may need to adjust the status - the benefit can change based on needs of one vs a couple. Hope this is helpful.

In regards to Too young for this (and I don't know where you are, I'm in Texas): Hospice re-evaluates patients every 6 mos. is what I was told. Plus, someone can be put on hospice for 3 mos. start to do better and released from hospice.1 month later if the patient starts to go downhill again, hospice can be reinstated. My mom was "not thriving" so hospice was called in. That was 1 1/2 years ago. She is fairly stable now however things keep happening (3 seizures for no reason as example) to keep hospice with her. She is getting ready to be re-evaluated to see if she is released to under facility care. I too am an only. Wasn't until 2 years ago when my sister passed but even with her here she wasn't able to help out. She worked full time plus taking care of her grandson. It's a double edged sword.....it can be a great help or boy I have 2 friends that have an awful lot of trouble with their siblings. We can only do what we can do and do the best we can. Take a deep breath and take one phone call at a time. :) God Bless

I think you got some good advice from the others. I am a veteran and get medical care at the VA. But so far I don't need hospice. I will be 83 the 17th and getting very forgetful. But the good Lord has been with me all my life and I am very thankful.

Dear College, I asked the agency I used to successfully help me get A & A for my Dad. The answer is that, getting Hospice will not affect your continuing to get the Aid and Attendance money. Receiving Medicaid would, however, because Medicaid would then be paying what A & A was paying. With Hospice, as long as your Mom's income does not increase beyond the limits of what VA requires for her to receive A & A, it shouldn't affect her monthly pension. Hope this helps.

If you need Aid and Attendance help, there is a Non-profit who helps you through the paperwork and it is all free. They ask for a donations after they have helped you to "pay-it-forward" as their organizations relies on donations, but they are pretty great and have helped thousands. Find them at www.apscnp.org

I saw someone posted that you no longer have to have a prognosis of 6 months, that is not true. The doctor has to say that if the disease runs its normal course there is a prognosis of 6 months or less. As far as Aid and Attendance in Michigan we have agencies that will assist you for free

My husband is 100% disabled veteran . I get aid and attendance to take care of him at home. He is terminal with Alzheimer's and renal cancer. My question is: if I put him I'm a VA center will we lose all of the aide and attendance benefit?