VA Aid and Attendance for Nursing Home Care in Connecticut

VA Aid and Attendance can put up to $2,424 a month toward a nursing home in Connecticut for a qualifying wartime veteran, and surviving spouses may receive up to $1,558 a month.1 That is meaningful relief in one of the most expensive long-term-care states in the country.

In This Guide

• How much a nursing home costs in Connecticut
• How VA Aid and Attendance helps pay for a Connecticut nursing home
• How nursing home costs lower your countable income
• Who qualifies
• The nursing-home pension cap when Medicaid is paying
• How Aid and Attendance works with Connecticut Medicaid (HUSKY C)
• How to apply and get free help
• Frequently asked questions

How Much a Nursing Home Costs in Connecticut

Per the CareScout 2025 Cost of Care Survey (the most recent state-level data, released March 2026), a semi-private room in a Connecticut nursing home costs about $182,500 a year, roughly $15,208 a month. A private room runs about $200,750 a year. Connecticut's nursing home costs are among the highest in the nation, far exceeding the national medians of about $114,975 for a semi-private room and $129,575 for a private room.2

These are industry-survey medians; costs vary within the state, with the Bridgeport and Fairfield County areas generally running higher than the rest of Connecticut.

How VA Aid and Attendance Helps Pay for a Connecticut Nursing Home

VA Aid and Attendance is a qualifying veteran's or survivor's VA pension paid at a higher maximum rate when the person needs help with daily activities, is bedridden, lives in a nursing home due to physical or mental incapacity, or has severely limited eyesight.5 It is not a separate program, and the rates below are ceilings on the whole pension, not amounts paid on top of the basic rate.

For 2026, the VA publishes these as maximum annual pension rates; the monthly figure is that yearly amount divided by 12:1

Every figure in that table is a ceiling, not a check. The VA bases the payment on the difference between the household's income for VA purposes and the Maximum Annual Pension Rate, which is the maximum amount of pension payable, so a household with countable income is awarded less than the table shows.1

Against a Connecticut nursing home running about $15,208 a month, Aid and Attendance at the single-veteran rate covers roughly 16 percent of the cost.2 Read that 16 percent as the top of the range: income the VA counts is the same income that reduces the award, so a household with other income is awarded less than $2,424 a month and covers a correspondingly smaller share.1 Even so, at the ceiling that is nearly $29,000 a year, funds that meaningfully extend how long a family can pay privately before needing Medicaid, and against a bill this size the benefit does not have to cover the whole thing to be worth claiming.1 The next section explains why a nursing home bill usually pushes that award toward the top of the range.

How Nursing Home Costs Lower Your Countable Income

VA pension, including its Aid and Attendance increase, is a needs-based benefit: to be eligible, the veteran's yearly family income and net worth must meet limits set by Congress. Because the benefit is keyed to the income the VA counts, large recurring deductible expenses can help a veteran qualify even when their income appears too high at first glance.1

Here is how it works: only the portion of unreimbursed medical expenses (UMEs) that exceeds 5 percent of the applicable maximum annual pension rate is deductible. For 2026:1

• $872 a year is the floor for a veteran with no spouse or child, the figure the VA publishes1
• A higher floor applies with dependents, because the rate used includes any increase for family members but never the increase for aid and attendance or being housebound1

Example: a single veteran has $25,000 in annual income and pays $182,500 a year for a Connecticut nursing home. To the extent those charges are deductible medical expenses, everything above the $872 floor comes off the income the VA counts, roughly $181,628 of the bill, which can bring a veteran who looked far too high-income within the limits.1

Under 38 CFR 3.278, payments for health, medical, hospitalization, and long-term care insurance premiums are medical expenses, including premiums for Medicare Parts A, B, and D.1 For nursing home care specifically, 38 CFR 3.278(d)(1) provides that payments to nursing homes, including the cost of meals and lodging charged by the facility, are medical expenses; that rule applies to claims for care received on or after October 18, 2018 that the VA has not previously granted.1 The separate conditions the same regulation attaches to in-home attendant care and to care facilities other than nursing homes govern only those settings, so an accredited representative should check which branch a given bill falls under.1

Who Qualifies

To receive VA Aid and Attendance, a veteran must meet all of the following:5

1. Wartime service, meaning at least one of these is true: the veteran started active duty before September 8, 1980 and served at least 90 days of active duty with at least one day during a recognized wartime period (World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Gulf War/post-9/11); started active duty as an enlisted person after September 7, 1980 and served at least 24 months, or the full period for which they were called or ordered to active duty, with at least one day during wartime; or was an officer who started active duty after October 16, 1981 and had not previously served on active duty for at least 24 months.5
2. No dishonorable discharge, plus any one of four conditions: at least 65 years old; a permanent and total disability; a patient in a nursing home for long-term care because of a disability; or getting Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income. Any single one of the four satisfies this test, so a wartime veteran under 65 who receives SSI qualifies without an adjudicated permanent-and-total rating.5
3. Net worth under $163,699 (for 2026): VA's net worth calculation combines the claimant's and their dependents' assets and annual income, so income counts toward this limit and not assets alone; the primary home and a vehicle are excluded.5
4. Need for aid and attendance: requires help with daily activities (bathing, dressing, feeding), is bedridden, is a patient in a nursing home due to mental or physical incapacity, or has severely limited vision.

The VA also applies a 36-month look-back on asset transfers for less than fair market value. Transfers made on or after October 18, 2018 can trigger a penalty period of up to five years.5

Surviving spouses of qualifying wartime veterans may be eligible for the Survivors Pension with Aid and Attendance at up to $1,558/month.1

The $90/Month Nursing-Home Pension Cap

This is one of the most important planning facts for families weighing both VA pension and Medicaid.

When a veteran without a spouse or child, a surviving spouse without a child, or a surviving child is receiving Medicaid-covered nursing home care, federal law generally limits VA pension or survivors pension to no more than $90 per month for any period after the month in which the Medicaid payments begin (38 U.S.C. 5503(d)(2), with the surviving-spouse extension at 5503(d)(5), implemented at 38 CFR 3.551(i)).3 The VA says that where it awards the $90 rate, "your facility can't count this monthly payment as income toward your cost of care" and "You would keep the full $90 for personal expenses." Whether that $90 comes in addition to, or instead of, Connecticut's Medicaid personal needs allowance is set by the state's own post-eligibility rules, so confirm it with Connecticut DSS rather than assuming the two amounts add together.3

What this means practically: if a veteran enters a nursing home that Connecticut Medicaid is already paying for, the VA pension does not continue at the full Aid and Attendance rate. Given Connecticut's very high nursing home costs, families should coordinate both applications carefully before the veteran enters a Medicaid-funded facility. An accredited VA representative or elder law attorney can help map out the timing to preserve as much benefit as possible.3

How Aid and Attendance Works with Connecticut Medicaid (HUSKY C)

For Connecticut seniors who need long-term care, VA Aid and Attendance and Connecticut Medicaid (HUSKY Health, administered by the Connecticut Department of Social Services) are separate programs that can interact. Long-term-care Medicaid for aged, blind, and disabled Connecticut residents is HUSKY C.4

Under general federal VA rules, a veteran's basic VA pension is counted as income for Medicaid purposes. The portion attributable to unreimbursed medical expenses, including the Aid and Attendance increment paid to cover the cost of care, is generally treated as reimbursement for medical care rather than countable income for Medicaid when those expenses are being paid out. That exclusion is a Medicaid rule rather than a VA one, and it applies at the eligibility step only. What happens after that is a separate calculation, and which federal rule governs it depends on the state and the setting. 42 CFR 435.725 is, on its face, the post-eligibility rule for institutionalized individuals in SSI states, and its applicability paragraph reaches only individuals "in medical institutions and intermediate care facilities." Where it applies, income that was disregarded in determining eligibility must be considered in that calculation, so an Aid and Attendance amount disregarded at eligibility becomes part of the income from which the required deductions are made and can raise what the resident owes the facility.3 Those deductions are not open-ended: alongside the personal needs allowance the agency deducts "Amounts for incurred expenses for medical or remedial care that are not subject to payment by a third party," and the category covering care recognized under State law but not covered by the state plan is "subject to reasonable limits the agency may establish on amounts of these expenses."3 Connecticut, though, is a 209(b) state, and 42 CFR 435.725 does not on its own settle post-eligibility treatment in a 209(b) state or for home and community-based waiver services, so ask Connecticut DSS how HUSKY C runs this calculation rather than assuming the federal result.3 Because the precise treatment depends on the HUSKY C income limits, any medically-needy spend-down, and how the Connecticut DSS counts each component, veterans should confirm with Connecticut DSS or an accredited representative before relying on any specific outcome.4 One Connecticut-specific caveat matters here: Connecticut is one of only eight states that elected the more restrictive 209(b) option, so Connecticut's own eligibility rule governs at that first step and may differ from the general treatment described above. Confirm how Connecticut treats the Aid and Attendance amount with the Department of Social Services before relying on it.4

How to Apply and Get Free Help

The steps below are the pension route, the one this guide is about: VA's condition for it is "You may be eligible for this benefit if you get a VA pension." You will need:6

• VA Form 21-2680 (Examination for Housebound Status or Permanent Need for Regular Aid and Attendance), with the examination information section completed by a medical examiner documenting the need for assistance. This form is not limited to the pension route: VA describes it as applying for Aid and Attendance "that will be added to your monthly compensation or pension benefits," so a veteran already receiving VA disability compensation uses it too.6
• VA Form 21P-527EZ (Application for Veterans Pension), for a wartime veteran pursuing the pension route who is not already receiving VA pension. This is the wartime, means-tested pension application, so it is the wrong form for a veteran whose Aid and Attendance would be added to VA disability compensation instead.6
• VA Form 21-0779 (Request for Nursing Home Information in Connection with Claim for Aid and Attendance), which a nursing-home claim will also need. VA's own pages are not consistent on who completes it, so ask the facility's business office before filling it out yourself.6

A claimant still gathering information can submit VA Form 21-0966 (Intent to File) first. VA says "Submitting an intent to file can secure the earliest possible effective date for any retroactive payments you may be eligible to receive."6

Forms can be submitted online at VA.gov, mailed to the VA Pension Intake Center, filed in person at a VA regional office, or filed through an accredited representative.6

Free help in Connecticut: The Connecticut Department of Veterans Affairs (CT DVA) 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. CT DVA runs district offices plus a Veteran Services Support Center at 196 West Street in Rocky Hill, and the state's Municipal Veterans Representative Program, directed by Connecticut General Statutes section 27-135, gives veterans an initial point of contact in each municipality.7 Visit portal.ct.gov/dva to connect with the nearest representative.

Cost depends on who represents you: 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.7

Compare Care Settings in Connecticut

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

• How Aid and Attendance Pays for Assisted Living in Connecticut
• How Aid and Attendance Pays for In-Home Care in Connecticut
• How Aid and Attendance Pays for Memory Care in Connecticut

Learn More

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.