Wow...do I agree with @Meowingkitty. My mom went in assisted living last year, and the admin gave me a card for a person in our local Veteran's Commission office. (Dad was a veteran.) I contacted her, and a minimum of four meetings later...we had the initial paperwork done. I have two college degrees, and there is no way I could have filled out the paperwork myself. Without knowledge of military abbreviations and how to word things, it would have been a nightmare. As it is...it still was! I'll spare you the details, but because of Dad's previous marriage, and the fact that with Mom's dementia--she couldn't remember where some of Dad's important papers were (I about tore the house down looking for them), it was a very stressful, time-consuming process.
After the initial "approval," then we had to meet with a field agent at Mom's assisted living, so that he could make sure everything was on the up and up. He discovered that the VC officer had left out some of Mom's income resulting in more and more paperwork that had to be completed and submitted! He knew what he was doing, thank goodness, and promptly answered any question I had later. He was so good to let me email him completed forms to make sure I had filled them out correctly before submitting them and then offered suggestions on how to word things better.
After all that was submitted, then someone from another state (not sure where) called with questions. I wasn't even sure I was telling him the correct info, because he used military terminology. It turned out that they initially paid Mom "too much," so then subsequent payments were reduced, and a couple were reduced quite a bit to make up for the extra they paid her.
After a final benefit amount is determined, you have to have a separate checking account created...titled a certain way...for the check deposits. The written instructions on how to title it were vague, at best, and I ended up calling the field agent from the bank with questions, when my bank was clueless. I understand that the process is designed to minimize fraud, but the process is awful! Thank goodness I was retired and had time to deal with it. I don't know how an elderly person without a "go-fer" to do all the meetings, send all the faxes, understand what needs to be done and how...could possibly tackle the process.
I honestly believe that they make it difficult so that a person will throw his/her hands up and say enough. I am at that point now, as this nightmare has been going on for a year...and I've had help with it! You can bet your bottom dollar that I keep copies of everything to prove that I am spending the funds on Mom's assisted living care. When I get something in the mail from the Veteran's Administration, I am almost sick, because I know I won't be able to understand what they're wanting. I got one a couple of weeks ago saying that Mom's benefit "might" be reduced again without proof from her doctor...blah, blah, blah...that she needs to be in assisted living! If that's the case, I will receive another letter telling me what to do. Yeah, right...as if you can understand any of their legalese! What gets me about this, is that we already sent in the doctor verification when we first started this process a year ago!
Our poor veterans!!! They deserve so much better than this horrific process to get what they rightly deserve!!!!
It is a true nightmare, and I wish you the best of luck. Don't even try to do it yourself. Find your local Veteran's Commission, make an appointment, and let them help you with it.
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