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                In last week’s post, I reviewed some major changes to the VA Aid and Attendance program.  The one that gets the most attention for obvious reasons is the imposition of a 3 year look back and penalty period.  This will restrict immediate access to the benefit for many veterans, at least those that don’t plan ahead.  There are, however, other changes that I believe will potentially make it easier to qualify for this tax free pension.                 Unreimbursed medical expenses remain important in both qualifying for the VA benefit as well as in the determination of how much of a pension the applicant can secure.  These expenses are still subtracted from gross income in order to determine income for VA purposes (IVAP), which then determines the amount of a pension the applicant can receive.  Medical expenses are also now relevant to the net worth calculation.                 As I explained last week assets are added to annual income to calculate net worth, which must  total no more than $123,600 (in 2018) to be eligible for the VA pension.  Unreimbursed medical expenses, however, can also be used to reduce the income when calculating net worth, although if expenses exceed income the excess expenses

                I have written many times in the past several years about possible rules changes to the VA Aid and Attendance pension program, which provides additional income to aging veterans and their spouses who need long term care.  Well, those changes are finally here and with almost no warning.  The new rules only announced late last month become effective October 18, 2018 so for some there may be an opportunity to act quickly in the next 10 days to preserve eligibility under the old rules.  Let’s go over the highlights.                 The change that will have the biggest impact is the imposition of a 3 year look back period.  Similar to Medicaid (which has a 5 year look back) the VA will now look back 3 years from the date of the application for benefits.  Any transfers for less than fair value will be subject to a penalty or period of ineligibility for benefits, again, similar to Medicaid.  The penalty will be calculated by taking the amount transferred and divide by the maximum pension for Aid and Attendance, currently $2169.  This divisor is much lower than Medicaid’s number which will result in a greater penalty for the same amount transferred, however,

                In last week’s post I told you about Joe’s problem.  He needed to apply for Medicaid for his sister, Sophie.  His sister, Mary, however, had told him that she took some of Sophie’s money and spent it herself.  He had confirmed at least $100,000 and counting.                 As I explained last week that would make Sophie ineligible for Medicaid benefits to pay for her nursing care for at least 10 months and maybe more – unless we can establish that Sophie did not willingly give this money to Mary.  So how do we do that?                 Well, just telling Medicaid that she did not give the money to Mary won’t work.  Medicaid will not take our word for it.  I explained to Joe that what he was alleging was theft which is a crime.  So, what do you when you are a victim of a crime?  You need to report it to the police.                 Joe initially balked at this and understandably so.  “How can I bring criminal charges against my sister”, he asked me.  I know it’s not easy, however, if the claim is that Mary took Sophie’s money without her permission that would be theft and the Medicaid caseworker is