Maryland and the VA Aid & Attendance Program
If you qualify for Aid and Attendance, you should consider how the Aid and Attendance funds are viewed in by Medicaid in Maryland. The website for the Stateof Maryland is http://dhmh.state.md.us/mma/mmahome.html.
Under regulation 10.09.24.07 I(b) Unearned income includes Veterans Administration benefits and income.
This should not deter you from applying for Aid and Attendance, it will not stop you from receiving Medicaid in a Nursing home. We are unclear on Maryland's stance on Medicaid in an Assisted Living situation. Since the VA regulation would require the reduction of the pension to $90 once you were receiving Medicaid assistance in the facility, one could argue that income could not be used to preclude your approval for Medical Assistance in the Assisted Living as they are to look at the next 6 months of expected income and the VA benefit would be the excluded $90 per month.
Under regulation 10.09.24.07
J. Excludable Income—Aged, Blind, or Disabled. Income from the following sources shall be excluded in determining countable gross income:
(20) For recipients of a VA pension who have neither spouse nor child, the VA payment not to exceed $90 per month beginning the month after the month of admission to a long-term care facility.
Remember, the regulation does not apply to a veteran with a dependent - For the married veteran, if the spouse has no Income for VA Purposes, the pension can continue (or be applied for).
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