How long does the approval process take for VA Aid & Attendance Benefits?

Only God knows what the VA does with our applications. We are still waiting having filed May 30th. I got Sen. John McCain's office involved, but who knows if that will do any good. Hope you receive yours before us. Waiting, and waiting...

We applied in June 2012 and started receiving monthly benefits in April 2013. We received back pay for the months between in August 2013.
Good luck.

It took 5 months for ours to be approved.. We are in Northeast Florida.. Hope you both hear soon.. We were disappointed in the amount, $221 a month.. does not really pay for my not being able to work and hubby's 24/7 caregiver. BUT I suppose its better then nothing..

I don't know how long it takes as I only now started to think about getting someone for my parents. Now that I know it could take six months or more, I believe I'll start the process now. I need a full-time job and maybe by the time I find one the VA aid will be available. I hope someone comes through soon for you. Thank you for your question, now I know I need to start before I desperately need it.

When I first admitted my Dad to an Assisted Living Facility they told me about a VA Rep. and I called him here in the East Tx area. You might call the Assisted Living facilities and see if they might know a rep. Our representative got us setup within 4 months and with back pay which was very nice. My dad 91 is receiving it now and is making his money stretch a lot further- what a blessing.

glad to read all these VA outcomes as in future I'll be looking at same topic I did not know payment would be retroactive is this a known fact ? many thanks...

my understanding was from the time of application is received at VA

It is a fact that the VA pays retroactively. Payments are retroactive to the 1st of the month following the month of application.

the va will stall you till were all dead. an aging service knows how to cram the apps thru and they dont charge for it. they can make it happen in 4 months.

Thanks everyone for your responses. What I am finding seems to be that it SHOULD take about four to five months...HOWEVER, as with most things, it depends on who you get to assist you. My brother, (who is NOT a caregiver for my Mom) got a woman who is not even in our county to do the inital filings and after months and months, I have discovered had I filed in OUR county and used our VSO it might already be determined...We filed in FEBRUARY 2013 and today I hear it could be another month or two....so disappointing to put veterans and their spouses through this after all they have been through. I have had to resubmit and resubmit and send more info , etc.....It did not have to be this way. I would hightly advise anyone applying for this benefit after what I have discovered the past three or four days to go to a Veterans Service Office and get the assistance of someone who actually cares....but I am not giving up....and I encourge those applying to not give up...thanks again for everyone's response...seems I am in the same boat as everyone else....

very good info re VA aid & assistance...now my search is how does VA figure out how much each applicant receives..I'm a widow of 100% didabled vet who put 20 yrs. in navy reserves. I know how exhausting the VA can be as I went through a JAG investagation many yrs. ago ....thanks

I have a new question concerning the VA Benefits. We are in Colorado and they told us we would have to be living in a care facility before being approved, is that right? It was the facility that told us that. We have filed but hear nothing back. Is this help dependent on us moving to the facility first? We cannot afford independent living without the benefits .

I think that at this point you should hire an attorney who specializes in obtaining what is rightfully yours. He can speed up things. I am in Georgia and I did hire an attorney who worked wonders. Don't try to do this yourself.

I had been to the VA Service office and it did not help. In fact, she messed things up.
I again would spring for an attorney.

To that person who only gets $200+ a month, do you give fulltime care thats absolutely necessary? Are there 3 things that person cannot do alone and the dr agrees? If so, make out a caregivers contract and count it as "medical care."
Also, dont use the VA , they arent on your side, believe me. There are agencies, email me privately if you want the name of one. Your pay will be retroactive and there is 3 months if you go thru a free agency. I waited 17 months and then learned this all, called my congressman and got it in 2 weeks! Well worth the wait, good luck, you should get over $1,000 a month if the person needs fulltime medical care and you are giving it. No, you do not have to be a nurse.

Just sent in the VA application and will be waiting with you all. It did take a some time to get all the papers necessary to file. I did every thing myself so I hope I did everything right.

grannyof12, where I live in Oklahoma, yes, they do have to be already living in a care facility before you can even apply for A & A. That's because we had to document how much my mother's room & board at the NH was on the application. It may be different in other states.

My experience with the VA was this: It took 18 mos. for them to approve the application. I completed the application on my own, took it to the Veterans Service Organization (VSO) and had them review it before submitting it. I called numerous times and would get conflicting information depending on who I spoke to. When they finally did approve the application, they paid her retroactive monies to the beginning of the process. If you are the VA appointed fiduciary (another drawn out process) be prepared to do an accounting for those monies. Also, someone from the fiduciary unit will visit both the beneficiary and you in person. It is a tedious process.

The VSO was very helpful. But, I called for myself. Keep notes on the conversations that you have with the reps. trust me they come in handy.

I also found that even though I was my cousins court appointed guardian and conservator the VA would NOT accept those documents. They required me to complete their paperwork for fiduciary responsibilities. The utterly mind blowing thing that frustrated me was they kept asking me to have my cousin sign documents that she could not understand, even after I explained until I was blue in the face that the woman has Alzheimer's. They didn't care.

So, depending on your situation you may not have to wait as long. I was told that I could submit paperwork for a hardship if I wanted the paperwork processed faster. That meant that my cousin had to be in the process of being evicted and or destitute. Since she didn't meet that criteria, I had to wait it out.

Good luck.

cyoungbooks

My 85 year old mother was in the system and waiting over 18 months for a benefit my father worked hard for over the course of 33 years in the Air Force. My mother died having never receiving the benefits and leaving my husband and I in debt as we covered her financial costs. Month after month we would receive no reply to endless paperwork that was requested. It's curious that within three days of my mother's death we finally received communication from the VA. It simply said that our request for benefits were terminated due to her death. We only got their attention after my mother died, adding insult to injury. So much for retro benefits to the date of application. My mother desperately needed the Aid and Attendance Benefit, to which see was entitled, and the VA looked the other way! Why offer this benefit when they do not intend on following through. Good luck to you.

My 85 year old mother was in the system and waiting over 18 months for a benefit my father worked hard for over the course of 33 years in the Air Force. My mother died having never receiving the benefits and leaving my husband and I in debt as we covered her financial costs. Month after month we would receive no reply to endless paperwork that was requested. It's curious that within three days of my mother's death we finally received communication from the VA. It simply said that our request for benefits were terminated due to her death. We only got their attention after my mother died, adding insult to injury. So much for retro benefits to the date of application. My mother desperately needed the Aid and Attendance Benefit, to which see was entitled, and the VA looked the other way! Why offer this benefit when they do not intend on following through. Good luck to you.

Wow. We applied for A&A several years ago! -- with the assistance of a very nice local DAV representative (Disabled American Veterans, dav.org). As others say, it has been wait wait push push. We've even had to keep pushing the DAV representative, who is volunteer and overloaded.

First, for well over a year we received no response from VA. Finally the DAV guy called them and they said some needed paper had not been filed with the application. So there was back and forth on that. Then, because my vet had checked a box saying I was needed to handle the utility bill paying, they started a Fiduciary process to declare him incompetent and name me as Fid. (Moral -- if you declare yourself incompent, you're incompetent, LOL.) The DAV guy knew who to call at the VA, said they don't like appointing Fiduciaries becasue it is extra paperwork for them, so they default to Competent if they can. We also sent letters from his civilian doctor and lawyer, but that might not have been necessary.

Finally the VA sent a denial of the claim. So it has been back and forth with NODs etc, again us push DAV to push VA, push push. The denial may be legit according to their regulations, something wierd about the disabiity having to be service connected or blah blah -- but our DAV guy says the claim should qualify, so I guess we'll keep trying. Trying through DAV doesn't cost anything except time and headaches. If someone knows a better agency to try through (Seattle area), pls let me know!

@ smg2013, there would be retro payments if it's ever approved. (You might try fighting for this through a good representative.)

@ grannyof12, in WA nothing has been said about being in a facility -- he's not. VA is federal, so I don't see how it would be different in different states. Since it was a facility that told you he'd have to move in, be suspicious, check with an agency that is not trying to get you as a customer!

My dad passed waiting on his 5++ years.:(

If you use a competent firm that specializes in Federal Benefits Planning (meaning both Medicaid and VA benefits) the process should not take more than 5 to 6 months. This is assuming that a "Fully Developed Claim Application" is submitted.

It is extremely important that you consider and plan for the possibility of the applicant needing rehabilitation care or nursing home care in the future which VA Pension does not cover. The Medicaid ICP Program covers the above types of care. Since the VA rules are very different than Medicaid rules, preparing for both programs concurrently is essential.

@Reverseroles

We went thru the DAV who originally helped us with my husbands claim, tho we lived in New Hampshire when he first filed. And the VA there was not as overwhelmed as here in NE FL.

His Social Worker at the VA gathered all paperwork we needed to file for A&A and the DAV SO we saw was impressed with what she put together for us..

With the filing the VA found hubby incompetent and I am now his Federal Fiduciary.

Yes, he needs help with his ADL's.. I have give him his meds, cook, clean for him.. He does not drive anymore. I help bathe him, help him dress and at times in the bathroom..
This week the roll in shower that we got from a HISA grant was put in and that is helpful with my back and worries about his getting and in out of tub. Tomorrow, we pick up his new mobility scooter and lift for the car.. The HISA grant and scooter (he has a used one that I bought that comes apart to go into car) were all suggested by and appts set up by his social worker.. Sadly, she recently left and moved to another VA area to be close to family..

No one could never answer me why we only got the $200+ a month. Even the field examiner from the Fiduciary Office thought we were not getting enough.. THO, I have also learned there are some things not to push within the VA as you can lose what you have. As someone who works there said to me, "the VA gives and the VA takes away." and we cant afford to have any taken away.. I really would like an answer as to how they come to the figure they award for A&A..

I know sometime in the future I will not be able to care for him anymore.. I have paperwork to fill in for the Veterans Home. I just haven't the heart to fill it in, guilt feelings . And if and when he goes there I will lose the A&A since I wont be his caregiver anymore.

THe VA also pays for him to go to Adult Day Care, he can go 5 days, but I usually bring him 2, except when the workers were here for the roll in shower, then he and the dog went to their day cares for the noise and disruptions.

And he goes to respite 2 times a year for 2 weeks..

In the end, I really cant complain about the VA, I know many have issues with them. I feel we are fortunate that he was found 100% P&T at first filings..

I have learned, who and how to ask for things. But I still feel I am worth more then $212 a month! even a part time job @ 10 hours a week I would make more then that!

To my knowledge you do NOT have to be in a facility...we have never been told this and I have spoken to the folks at the Department of Veterans Affairs....also, one of my friends father in law is a disable vet, lives at home and his son cares for him and he receives it so I think that is not accurate that you must live there....what I have also found out through a lot of trial and error is that many people who work for the VA do not really know much about the A&A benefit....the man whom I found to be the most helpful so far has been a retired Army Ranger who is now a Veterans Service Officer right here in our city...so I would find a local VSO office and check with them...the retired veterans also seem to care a lot more about this issue....

And I agree re the $200 amount that someone is getting...that sounds way off...especially if they require 24/7 care and you are the one who gives it...you can appeal that....and I do think a congressman who works with the VA is MUCH more helpful than an attorney..a lot of attorney's dont even know about this and the ones who do are in it for one thing.....

Also, this benefit has been earned by your loved one who was a service member ...it is not something you should have to fight for....it just takes finding the right person to do this....Now that I am almost through the process I think I could get it done a lot faster, but no one knew a thing about it at the outset when I began and so it was like walking with blinders on.. :(

I, like mymares, agree that of all the government agencies I have dealt with, the Department of Veterans Affairs is the best. Those folks actually CARE about our veterans and do not take their jobs lightly...

My goverment insurance is USFHP its the best keep secret since the A bom it mirrors tri care prime but its in its own catagory. I have had it since 1981 a very good insurance...you have to hunt down Drs. who accept it. I deal with a case manager who usually are good blood hounds....I've been very lucky to have this plan....any one else out there with this secret insurance ?

avcidy....is this for veterans or their surviving spouses also? so this replaces the Medicare, A&B and supplemental?

mymares, if the daycare is free it must be paid also by the Veterans then? If you have a caregivers contract you can get that pay for yourself as long as you are givng medical care. I would call and ask this company, even though you moved, maybe they can still help you.Elder Resource Benefits Consulting