It Has Been a Year Since We Filed for Aid & Attendance for My Father

 

By Melissa Howell

It has been a year since we filed for the Aid and Attendance Pension Benefit for my Father-in-law, John. He is still comfortably situated in his assisted living apartment and receiving good health care from the staff. An important document that our Veteran Consultant let us know about was a form called the “Eligibility Verification Report” (EVR) which VA sends at the beginning of the year and must be filled out every year in order to continue receiving benefits.

After my initial help with his original application John was the only one to receive correspondence from VA, so I asked him to start watching for any letters from them starting in December. He received the form in January. We gathered all of our receipts from his Assisted Living and other medical bills to sum up the correct amount that he had paid that year. The original application could only be an estimate, so this new form establishes the actual amount he is paying. We did not need to send in the receipts, but we filed them away in case VA wanted to see them for proof.

It was very helpful to have our Consultant answer any questions and make us aware of this very important form. Many people are not aware that once applied for and receiving the benefit the “EVR” has to be completed yearly to keep it. One concern to address is that if income or assets increased the past year, the benefit may be reduced or eliminated. On the other hand, if medical expenses have increased since the last year, the benefit may also increase.

Because some of our readers may not have read last years article by Melissa relating her experience with applying for the Aid & Attendance Benefit, we are including it here with her update on the yearly “EVR” filing.