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See also: In The Military

Long-term care includes
broad range of services

Question: What long-term health care benefits are available to veterans and what are the criteria for eligibility?

Answer: The extended care benefits provide for a range of long-term care services, including:

» Nursing Home Care: Any veteran who has a service-connected disability rated at 70 percent or more qualifies for nursing-home care. Veterans whose service-connected disability is clinically determined to require nursing-home care also qualify. Care will be provided in a VA nursing home or contract nursing home. VA may provide nursing-home care to other eligible veterans if space and resources are available. Non-service-connected and 0 percent, noncompensable, service-connected veterans requiring nursing-home care will be asked to complete a means test or extended-care co-payment exemption test to determine whether they will be billed for nursing-home care.

» Domiciliary Care: This is rehabilitative and long-term, health-maintenance care for veterans who require some medical care, but who do not require all the services provided in nursing homes. Domiciliary care emphasizes rehabilitation and return to community settings. VA may provide domiciliary care to veterans whose annual income does not exceed the maximum annual rate of VA pension or to veterans the VA determines have no adequate means of support.

» Adult Day Health Care: This program is a therapeutic day-care program, which provides medical and rehabilitation services to disabled veterans in a congregate setting.

» Respite Care: This is provided to veterans on a short-term basis to give the caregiver a period of relief from the physical and emotional demands of providing care. This care can now be provided in the home or other non-institutional settings.

» Home Care: Skilled home care is provided by the VA and by contract agencies to veterans who are homebound with chronic diseases, as well as to patients with a terminal illness.

» Hospice or Palliative Care: These programs offer pain management, symptom control and other medical services to terminally ill veterans or veterans in the late states of chronic disease process, as well as bereavement counseling and respite care to their families.

For more information on the above programs, contact the Honolulu VA Medical Center at 433-0600. You can learn more about long-term care programs by accessing the VA Web site at www.va.gov/hawaii.

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If you have questions about your benefits as a veteran,
call Fred Ballard at the Veterans Affairs at 433-0049
or visit the VA Web site at www.va.gov/hawaii
or the Star-Bulletin at 529-4747.

Gregg K. Kakesako, who covers military affairs for the Star-Bulletin,
can be reached by phone at 294-4075
or by e-mail at gkakesako@starbulletin.com.