President signs bill that provides stipends for relatives and
friends who assist those severely injured in line of duty before 9/11
Under the VA Mission
Act, veterans of all eras will be entitled to caregiving assistance.
Help is on the way for
tens of thousands of veterans who need someone to help care for them because of
serious injuries they suffered in the line of duty.
A popular Department
of Veterans Affairs (VA) program that pays family members or friends to serve
as caregivers to severely injured veterans currently applies only to those who
joined the military on or after Sept. 11, 2001. Under the VA Mission Act, which
Congress passed in May and President Trump signed Wednesday afternoon, veterans
of all eras will be entitled to caregiving assistance. The bill also gives
veterans easier access to private doctors.
The measure will
benefit veterans of World War II, Korea, Vietnam and the Gulf War who need help
with everyday activities, such as bathing, eating and dressing. But
the expansion is not expected to be implemented until at least 2019.
Under the current
caregiver program, relatives or friends who care for eligible veterans can
receive a stipend, training, access to health insurance, counseling and respite
care. In 2017, caregivers received between $7,800 and $30,000 a year, according
to the Congressional Budget Office. The stipends are not considered taxable
income.
The new legislation
adds legal and financial planning services for both injured veterans and their
caregivers.
To be eligible for the
program, veterans must need care on a regular basis for at least six months as
a result of serious duty-related injuries — either physical (including
traumatic brain injury) or psychological trauma and other mental health issues.
Veterans will have to
obtain a clinical evaluation to determine how much care per week they are
eligible to receive. The maximum stipend is for 40 hours per week, and the
amount is determined by the typical hourly wage for home health aides in the
geographic area where the veteran lives.
Once the VA has a
technology system in place that will support the expansion, the agency plans to
phase in the new recipients. First, those who were injured in the line of duty
on or before May 7, 1975, would be eligible for the caregiver
benefits; next, those injured after May 7, 1975, but before Sept. 11,
2001, would be covered.
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