Aid and Attendance and Homebound Status

Veterans who are totally disabled and have special needs may be entitled to additional benefits under both the veteran’s pension and compensation bases. This additional entitlement arises if the veteran is housebound or in need of aid and attendance.

Housebound benefits are awarded when the veteran is essentially confined to his or her dwelling and cannot leave without assistance. The veteran must first be eligible for veteran’s pension or be rated 100 percent disabled under VA’s rating schedule. Alternatively, a veteran who is receiving a 100 percent disability rating and has an additional disability established at 60 percent or greater, is entitled to housebound benefits whether or not he or she is in fact housebound.

Entitlement to aid and attendance arises if the veteran is drawing pension or has been rated 100 percent disabled under VA’s rating schedule and that veteran requires the aid and attendance of others for activities of daily living. This need for assistance must be regular and need not be constant. Means to establish this entitlement include: having visual acuity of 5/200 or less in both eyes; being a patient in a nursing home; or being unable to dress, clean oneself or attend to bodily functions; or being so incapacitated that the veteran must be protected on a regular basis form the hazard of his or her environment.

No particular form is required to request additional benefits but a medical statement establishing that the veteran is housebound or in need of aid and attendance should be provided to support this claim.