The VA offers a number of services to support family caregivers including monthly payment or stipend to designated caregivers of severely disabled veterans. Keep reading for more information on the VA Caregiver Support Program.
The first thing you are probably asking is “What is a Primary Family Caregiver Stipend?” Well, a Primary Family Caregiver stipend is monetary compensation paid to a Primary Family Caregiver for providing personal care services to an eligible Veteran enrolled in the Caregiver Support Program. The stipend benefit is not intended to replace career earnings, and receipt of the stipend payments does not create an employment relationship between VA and the Primary Family Caregiver.
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It’s important to note that not ALL caregivers can receive this stipend. Only the designated Primary Family Caregiver of an eligible Veteran is entitled to receive a stipend. There can be only one Primary Family Caregiver designated at a time. Also, important to know that the stipend is a VA enhanced service and is not considered taxable income.
To utilize this benefit the qualified Veteran will need to be evaluated to determine their level of personal care services. The Veteran’s Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) at your assigned VA Medical Center (VAMC) will make a determination after evaluating the eligible Veteran. The PACT provides a clinical evaluation of the Veteran’s level of dependency, based on the degree to which the eligible Veteran is unable to perform one or more activities of daily living, or the degree to which the Veteran is in need of supervision or protection, based on symptoms or residuals of neurological or other impairment or injury. As a result of the clinical evaluation and score, the eligible Veteran will be rated as follows:
- High Tier: Equates to a maximum of 40 hours of care per week.
- Medium Tier: Equates to a maximum of 25 hours of care per week.
- Low Tier: Equates to a maximum of 10 hours of care per week.
Once the PACT is able to determine the tier level of the eligible Veteran they will be able to determine the stipend amount for the Primary Family Caregiver. The stipend amount is based on the weekly number of hours of personal care services that the eligible Veteran requires during the month. It is calculated by multiplying the Bureau of Labor Statistics hourly wage for home health aides, Skill code 311011, for the geographic region in which the eligible Veteran resides by the Consumer Price Index Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA), and then multiplying that total by the number of weekly hours of Caregiver assistance required (assigned tier level hours). This product is then multiplied by the average number of weeks in each month (4.35).
For example: If an eligible Veteran requires 10 hours of personal care services weekly (Tier 1) and the Caregiver’s hourly wage (including COLA) is $10 per hour, then the monthly stipend would be: (10 hours x $10) x 4.35 = $435.
Once the stipend total is calculated and approved it will be paid out monthly to the Primary Family Caregiver.
You can find more information about the Primary Family Caregiver Stipend from the VA by calling the Caregiver support line at 1-855-260-3274, Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Eastern Standard Time.
You can also visit the Caregiver website at http://www.caregiver.va.gov or email: https://iris.custhelp.com/app/ask
This is a great benefit for Veterans with service-related disabilities and their families. It allows the Veteran to still maintain a quality of life and provides a way for their families to be involved in their care.
Contact Us
Have a question about your Veteran benefits? You can email us today! If you are within one-year pre to post-military separation, you can enroll in our FREE program by setting up a call with one of our transition coaches.