In-home care in Connecticut is among the most expensive in the country, and VA Aid and Attendance can help a wartime veteran or surviving spouse pay for it. It's a monthly cash benefit paid directly to the veteran, who decides how to spend it: a home health aide, a homemaker, or even a family member providing the care. For someone who needs help with daily activities like bathing or dressing, it can make staying at home possible.

This guide explains what in-home care costs in Connecticut, how much Aid and Attendance pays, who qualifies, and how the benefit works alongside HUSKY Health, the state's Medicaid program.

In This Guide

How Much In-Home Care Costs in Connecticut

In-home care in Connecticut runs above the national average. According to the CareScout 2025 Cost of Care Survey (released March 2026), a non-medical caregiver in Connecticut costs about $82,368 per year (roughly $6,864 per month), based on a 44-hour-per-week schedule. The 2025 survey merged the former homemaker and home health aide categories into a single non-medical caregiver line. Connecticut's facility costs, especially nursing homes, run far above national figures, with a semi-private nursing home room around $182,500 a year.

Costs are higher in the Bridgeport and Fairfield County areas than in the rest of Connecticut, and they climb as care needs grow. This is exactly the kind of expense Aid and Attendance is designed to offset.

How Aid and Attendance Helps Pay for In-Home Care in Connecticut

Aid and Attendance is an increased monthly VA pension for wartime veterans and surviving spouses who need help with daily activities. It is paid as cash directly to the veteran, who decides how to use it. Because it is paid to the beneficiary as part of the monthly pension, families commonly put it toward a home health aide, a homemaker, or a family caregiver.

The VA publishes these as maximum annual pension rates; the monthly figure is that yearly amount divided by 12. The maximum annual pension rate (MAPR) is a ceiling, not a set payment: the VA bases the payment amount on the difference between your income for VA purposes and that limit, so the award can be less than the figures below.

Category Annual Rate Monthly Rate
Veteran alone $29,093 $2,424
Veteran with spouse $34,488 $2,874
Surviving spouse $18,697 $1,558

At up to $2,424 a month for a veteran, the benefit covers a meaningful share of Connecticut's roughly $6,864 monthly cost for a non-medical caregiver, and at up to $2,874 for a veteran with a spouse it covers even more., Keep in mind the VA pays the veteran; the veteran arranges and pays for the care.

How In-Home Care Costs Lower Your Countable Income

VA pension, including the Aid and Attendance increase, is a needs-based benefit: to be eligible, your yearly family income and net worth have to meet limits set by Congress. Out-of-pocket care costs, such as paying a home health aide, can count as unreimbursed medical expenses (UMEs) that reduce the income the VA counts, which is why many veterans who look "too rich" on paper still qualify once their care bills are subtracted.

Only the portion of those expenses above 5% of the applicable maximum annual pension rate is deductible, counting any increase for family members but not the increase for aid and attendance or housebound status. For 2026 the VA gives that floor as $872 a year for a veteran with no spouse or child; it rises if you have dependents. So if a veteran pays $82,368 a year for in-home care, nearly all of it comes off countable income once the first $872 is set aside. For in-home attendant care, the attendant must be a health care provider unless the veteran needs aid and attendance or is housebound, or a physician, physician assistant, certified nurse practitioner, or clinical nurse specialist states in writing that a physical, mental, developmental, or cognitive disorder makes that health or custodial care necessary.

Who Qualifies

To qualify for Aid and Attendance, a veteran generally must:

  • Not have received a dishonorable discharge
  • Meet the wartime service requirement, which the VA lists as three paths keyed to when active duty began: starting before September 8, 1980, at least 90 days of active duty with at least one day during a wartime period; starting as an enlisted person after September 7, 1980, at least 24 months (the VA adds "with some exceptions"), or the full period for which they were called or ordered to active duty, with at least one day during wartime; or starting as an officer after October 16, 1981, without having previously served on active duty for at least 24 months
  • Meet at least one of the VA's four age-or-disability tests: be 65 or older; have a permanent and total disability; be a patient in a nursing home for long-term care because of a disability; or be getting Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income. Any one of the four is enough on its own, so a wartime veteran under 65 who receives SSI qualifies on that basis with no disability rating
  • Need aid and attendance, which the VA establishes if another person's regular help is needed with activities like dressing, bathing, feeding, or attending to the wants of nature, or if care is needed on a regular basis to protect against hazards in daily surroundings; or if the veteran is bedridden; or is a patient in a nursing home because of a loss of mental or physical abilities related to a disability; or has eyesight of 5/200 or less in both eyes, or a visual field contracted to 5 degrees or less
  • Have a net worth below $163,699 (the VA's net worth calculation combines the claimant's and their dependents' assets and annual income; the primary residence, a vehicle, and basic home items like appliances are excluded),

The VA enforces a 3-year look-back on assets transferred for less than fair market value before filing. A surviving spouse can qualify under the Survivors Pension using the same net worth limit.

Using Aid and Attendance to Pay a Family Caregiver for In-Home Care in Connecticut

Many families want to keep care in the family, and there are two ways VA benefits make that possible. First, because Aid and Attendance is cash paid to the veteran, the veteran can simply use it to pay a relative who provides care.

Second, the Veteran-Directed Care (VDC) program gives the veteran a flexible budget, managed by the veteran or their representative, to hire and supervise their own workers. Veterans may hire family, friends, and neighbors, including a spouse, and a financial management services provider helps with the employer responsibilities that come with being the hiring party, such as payroll and taxes. Whether a particular relative can be paid under a particular program is worth confirming before you count on it, so ask an accredited Veteran Service Officer or your VA social worker about your own situation. To ask about VDC itself, contact your local VA medical center's social work or geriatrics department.

How Aid and Attendance Works with Connecticut Medicaid

For Connecticut seniors who need long-term care, VA Aid and Attendance can interact with Medicaid (HUSKY Health, administered by the Connecticut Department of Social Services); long-term-care Medicaid for aged, blind, and disabled residents is HUSKY C. Under general federal rules, a veteran's basic VA pension is counted as income, but the portion attributable to unreimbursed medical expenses, including the Aid and Attendance increment paid to cover care, is generally treated as reimbursement for medical care rather than countable income. That exclusion is a Medicaid rule rather than a VA one, and it applies at the eligibility step only: once someone is eligible and receiving long-term-care services under HUSKY C, income that was disregarded in determining eligibility has to be counted again in the post-eligibility share-of-cost calculation, so the Aid and Attendance amount does count toward the cost of their care. Not all of it reaches the facility, and incurred medical expenses are not the only thing taken out of it first: for a resident of a medical institution, 42 CFR 435.725(c) requires the agency to deduct amounts in a set order, beginning with a personal needs allowance for the resident's clothing and personal needs and, where a spouse or family remains at home, an additional amount for their maintenance needs, before amounts for incurred medical or remedial care expenses that no third party will pay. That section reaches medical institutions rather than home and community-based waiver services, which a separate federal rule governs, and because Connecticut is a 209(b) state, it does not by itself settle Connecticut's own share-of-cost math. Ask DSS which deductions it applies and what each is worth in your case before assuming the whole amount goes to the facility.

Connecticut's own rule governs at the eligibility step. It is one of only eight states that elected the more restrictive 209(b) option, so Connecticut's eligibility rule governs there and may differ from the federal default described above. Ask DSS how it treats the Aid and Attendance amount before relying on any of this.

Because the precise treatment depends on the program (HUSKY C income limits, the medically-needy spend-down, and how DSS counts each component) and on your circumstances, confirm with Connecticut DSS or an accredited representative before relying on any specific outcome.

How to Apply and Get Free Help

To apply for Aid and Attendance, submit VA Form 21-2680 (Examination for Housebound Status or Permanent Need for Regular Aid and Attendance), with the examination information section filled out by a medical examiner documenting the need for help. That form covers Aid and Attendance that will be added to either your monthly pension or your monthly compensation. The steps that follow are the pension route, the one this guide covers: the VA's condition is that you may be eligible for this benefit if you get a VA pension. So a wartime veteran pursuing the pension route who is not already receiving a VA pension also files VA Form 21P-527EZ (Application for Veterans Pension), which is the means-tested wartime pension application; a veteran who receives VA disability compensation rather than a pension does not use that form. If you are still gathering information, you can file VA Form 21-0966 (Intent to File) first, because the VA says submitting an intent to file can secure the earliest possible effective date for any retroactive payments you may be eligible to receive. You can apply online at VA.gov, by mail to the VA Pension Intake Center, or in person at a VA regional office. On how long a decision takes, the VA's answer is "It depends." It processes claims in the order it receives them, unless a claim requires priority processing.

Don't do this alone. The Connecticut Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Advocacy and Assistance staffs accredited Veteran Service Officers who represent veterans on U.S. VA claims and help Connecticut veterans apply for Veterans Pension and Aid and Attendance and Housebound benefits; the VA says a VSO representative's services on a VA benefit claim are always free, while an accredited attorney or claims agent can charge fees. You can reach them through portal.ct.gov/dva/advocacy-and-assistance, which lists the district offices and their current contact details; the Veteran Services Support Center is at 196 West Street, Rocky Hill. Connecticut's Municipal Veterans Representative Program, directed by Connecticut General Statutes section 27-135, gives veterans an initial point of contact in each municipality.

If your claim is denied. A denial letter explains why the VA turned down the claim and the evidence it weighed. After an initial decision you have three review options: a Supplemental Claim (file new and relevant evidence the VA didn't have when it reviewed the case before), a Higher-Level Review (a higher-level reviewer looks at the case, with no new evidence submitted), or a Board Appeal, where a Veterans Law Judge at the Board of Veterans' Appeals reviews the case. The menu narrows as you go: after a Higher-Level Review decision your options are a Supplemental Claim or a Board Appeal, and after a Board decision they are a Supplemental Claim or an appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, which must be filed within 120 days of the date on the Board's decision letter. For most VA benefits, a Higher-Level Review or a Board Appeal must be elected within one year of the date the VA issued notice of its decision, though certain VA benefits carry shorter time limits and your decision letter states the deadline that governs your case; a Supplemental Claim can be filed at any time after that notice, though the VA recommends filing within one year to keep your effective date. A Supplemental Claim received more than one year after the date on the decision notice takes an effective date no earlier than the day the VA receives it, unless the VA extends the one-year period for good cause, so filing late can cost back pay reaching all the way to your original claim date. The same CT DVA accredited Veteran Service Officers who file the initial claim can represent you on that appeal at no cost.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use Aid and Attendance to pay for a home health aide in Connecticut?

Yes. Aid and Attendance is paid as cash to the veteran, who can use it for a home health aide, a homemaker, or other in-home care. With in-home care in Connecticut running about $6,864 a month, the benefit of up to $2,424 (or up to $2,874 with a spouse) covers a meaningful share of the cost.

Does the VA provide the in-home care directly?

No. The VA pays the veteran a monthly cash benefit; the veteran arranges and pays for the care. That's what makes the benefit flexible enough to cover an agency aide or a family caregiver.

Can my income be too high to qualify if I'm paying for care?

Often not. Out-of-pocket in-home care can count as an unreimbursed medical expense that lowers the income the VA counts, but only the portion above the 5% floor, which the VA gives as $872 a year for a veteran with no spouse or child, is deductible. Large care bills can reduce countable income enough to qualify.

Can I get both Aid and Attendance and Connecticut Medicaid?

Yes, the two are separate programs and can be received together. Because the income treatment under HUSKY C depends on your circumstances, confirm with Connecticut DSS or an accredited representative.

What if my Aid and Attendance claim is denied?

After an initial decision you can file a Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence, ask for a Higher-Level Review with no new evidence, or appeal to the Board of Veterans' Appeals. For most VA benefits, a Higher-Level Review or a Board Appeal must be elected within one year of the date the VA issued notice of its decision, and a benefit with a shorter time limit will say so on the decision letter. A Supplemental Claim can be filed at any time, but one received more than a year after the date on the decision notice takes an effective date no earlier than the day the VA receives it, absent a good-cause extension, so file inside the year to protect your back pay. Connecticut's accredited Veteran Service Officers can represent you on the appeal at no cost.

Compare Care Settings in Connecticut

Aid and Attendance can help pay for any care setting. See how it works for the others:

Learn More

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The information on Brevy.com is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional legal, financial, or medical advice. Rules vary by state and program and change frequently. Always verify with the relevant agency or a qualified professional. Brevy is not a law firm, financial advisor, or healthcare provider.

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