VA Benefits You Can Use for Senior Care in Illinois

VA benefits for senior care in Illinois can cover far more than most families realize: home-based medical care, nursing homes, and monthly Aid and Attendance payments. If your loved one is a veteran, the hard part usually isn't qualifying. It's knowing what to ask for.

This guide covers every VA program that helps pay for or provide senior care, how to access them in Illinois, and what happens when VA care isn't enough on its own.

In This Guide

• Key Takeaways
• VA Senior Care Benefits in Illinois
• Illinois Veterans' Homes
• Aid and Attendance
• Veteran-Directed Care
• Community Care
• How VA Benefits Work with Medicare and Medicaid
• How to Access VA Senior Care Benefits in Illinois
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Next Steps

VA Senior Care Benefits in Illinois: Long-Term Care Programs

The VA offers multiple long-term care programs.1 Access isn't automatic once a veteran is enrolled: VA also has to conclude the veteran needs that specific service for their ongoing treatment and personal care, and the service, or a space in the care setting, has to be available near them. That list isn't closed, either. VA says it may also consider other factors, like the veteran's service-connected disability status or insurance coverage.6

Home Based Primary Care (HBPC)

A VA physician supervises a health care team that visits the veteran at home.1 HBPC is designed for veterans with complex medical needs who have difficulty getting to a clinic regularly. The team typically includes a doctor, nurse, social worker, and may include rehabilitation therapists and a dietitian.

Unlike the short-term skilled visits covered by Medicare, HBPC provides ongoing, coordinated primary care in the home, which makes it one of the best programs the VA offers for veterans with complex needs.

Adult Day Health Care

Veterans attend a structured daytime program that provides social activities, companionship, recreation, care, and support.1 It also gives family caregivers reliable daytime respite. Programs may be at VA facilities or contracted community adult day centers.

Community Living Centers (VA Nursing Homes)

Community Living Centers are VA nursing centers designed to feel like home, providing nursing-home-level care.1

A short respite stay in a CLC is also one of the VA's formal respite options, so a CLC can serve a veteran who needs ongoing nursing care and a family that needs a temporary break.7

Community Nursing Home Program

The VA contracts with community (non-VA) nursing homes so veterans can get nursing home care near home.1 Referrals run through the social work department at your nearest VA medical center, which coordinates placement. Ask that same social worker what the stay will cost, because the placement is not automatically free. The VA covers some extended care under a veteran's standard VA health benefits, and the veteran may still owe a copay: there is no copay for the first 21 days of geriatric or extended care in a 12-month period, and from the 22nd day the VA sets the copay from the level of care and the financial information the veteran gives on VA Form 10-10EC. Some veterans owe no copay at all, because their disability rating, income level, or special eligibility factors exempt them.6

Respite Care

All enrolled veterans are eligible for VA respite care if they meet the clinical criteria for the service and it is available.7 Respite can be in-home (a home health agency employee comes to the house), an adult day health care program in the community, or a nursing home stay in a VA Community Living Center or a community nursing home. Nursing Home Respite Care is available for a maximum of 30 days per calendar year.7

A separate and more generous benefit runs through the VA Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers (PCAFC): its eligible Primary Family Caregivers receive at least 30 days of respite care per year.7 That 30-day figure belongs to PCAFC, not to every enrolled veteran's caregiver, so ask which one applies to you. Contact the VA Caregiver Support Line at 1-855-260-3274.7

Illinois Veterans' Homes

The Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs (IDVA) operates five state-run Illinois Veterans' Homes, in Anna, Chicago, LaSalle, Manteno, and Quincy.2 These homes offer affordable long-term care to aged and disabled veterans, and the Anna and Quincy homes also offer care to qualifying spouses.

Services range from the independent domiciliary living program in Anna and Quincy, which offers minimal support for veterans who can live more independently, to 24/7 skilled nursing care in all five locations for veterans with significant clinical needs.2 The Chicago home sits on the city's northwest side at 4250 N. Oak Park Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60634, and accommodates veterans seeking skilled nursing and memory care.2 Staff at each Home can answer admission questions and advise veterans and families in making the best choice possible.2

VA Aid and Attendance

The Aid and Attendance pension is a monthly cash benefit for veterans (or surviving spouses) who need help with daily activities.3

2026 Rates

VA publishes these rates as annual maximums, so a monthly amount is the yearly award divided by 12. Each figure is a ceiling, not a payment: VA pays the difference between the claimant's income for VA purposes and that limit, so a household with countable income is awarded less than the maximum.3

Who Qualifies

To be eligible, the veteran must not have a dishonorable discharge, and must:8

• Meet the wartime service test, which is keyed to when the veteran entered active duty: someone who started active duty before September 8, 1980 needs at least 90 days of active duty with at least 1 day during a wartime period; someone who started active duty as an enlisted person after September 7, 1980 generally needs at least 24 months, or the full period for which they were called or ordered to active duty, with at least 1 day during wartime; and an officer who started active duty after October 16, 1981, and had not previously served on active duty for at least 24 months, meets the test on that basis8
• Meet at least one of four alternatives, any one of which satisfies this part of the test: be at least 65 years old; 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. A wartime veteran under 65 who receives SSI qualifies here without any adjudicated disability rating8
• Meet the need-for-aid-and-attendance test at 38 CFR 3.352(a), which covers things like being unable to dress or undress, keep clean and presentable, feed oneself, or attend to the wants of nature, or needing regular care to stay safe from hazards in daily surroundings; or be bedridden; or be a patient in a nursing home due to the loss of mental or physical abilities related to a disability; or have 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 for 2026. VA counts the veteran's and their dependents' assets and annual income together against that limit, excluding the primary residence and a vehicle, so comparing assets alone against $163,699 gives the wrong answer3

The VA enforces a 3-year (36-month) look-back period on asset transfers made for less than fair market value, with a penalty period that can run up to five years.8 If the veteran's countable net worth sits above $163,699, that look-back means you generally can't fix it by quickly giving assets away, so talk to an elder law attorney about compliant planning before you apply.8

How to Apply

Everyone starts with VA Form 21-2680 (Examination for Housebound Status or Permanent Need for Regular Aid and Attendance), whose examination information section a medical examiner must fill out. That form covers aid and attendance added to either monthly compensation or pension benefits, so which second form you need depends on which of the two the veteran is claiming against.9

The steps below are the pension route, which is the one VA describes when it says you may be eligible for this benefit if you get a VA pension. On that route, a wartime veteran who isn't already receiving a VA pension also files Form 21P-527EZ (Application for Veterans Pension). Note that 21P-527EZ 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; ask an accredited service officer which route fits before you file. You can file online at VA.gov, by mail to the VA Pension Intake Center, or in person at a VA regional office. Asked 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.9

Don't do this alone. The Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs staffs offices across the state with Veteran Service Officers trained and accredited by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, who help veterans and their dependents and survivors apply for federal and state benefits, including compensation and pension, free of charge.5

If a claim is denied, you have appeal rights, and you don't have to start over from scratch. An accredited Veteran Service Officer can help you file a supplemental claim with new evidence or request a higher-level review, at no charge.5

For the full application walkthrough, see our VA Aid and Attendance guide.

Aid and Attendance isn't the only benefit worth claiming if the veteran owns their home. Under 35 ILCS 200/15-169, Illinois reduces the equalized assessed value of the primary residence of a veteran with a service-connected disability rating of at least 30%, on a sliding scale tied to that rating.10 It is a state benefit claimed at your local assessment office rather than through the VA, and our guide to the Illinois disabled veteran property tax exemption explains who can claim it and how to file.10

Veteran-Directed Care

Veteran-Directed Care (VDC) is a VA home and community based services program, separate from the Aid and Attendance pension, that gives an enrolled veteran a flexible budget managed by the veteran or their representative to hire and supervise their own workers so they can keep living at home or in their community.11 Veterans may hire family, friends, and neighbors, including a spouse.11

The veteran works with a person-centered options counselor at an Aging and Disability Network Agency, such as an Area Agency on Aging, and a financial management services provider helps with the employer responsibilities that come with being the hiring party.11 All enrolled veterans are eligible for VDC if they are eligible for community care, meet the clinical criteria for the service, and it is available in their area.11 If paying a spouse or another family member is what you are trying to arrange, confirm how it would work in your own case with an accredited Veteran Service Officer or your VA medical center's social work team before you commit to anything.

The size of the VDC budget is set individually, based on the veteran's assessed care needs, so it fits veterans who want to direct their own in-home help rather than draw a capped monthly pension amount like Aid and Attendance.11 Contact your local VA medical center's social work department to ask about VDC availability in your area.

When VA Wait Times Are Too Long: Community Care

The MISSION Act (2018) expanded when veterans can receive care from community (non-VA) providers at VA's expense.4 Two requirements always apply: the veteran has to be enrolled in (or eligible for) VA health care, and has to get approval from their VA health care team before seeing a community provider, except in certain cases such as urgent or emergency care.4 Beyond that, at least one of these has to be true:

• The VA can't offer an appointment within 20 days (primary care/mental health) or 28 days (specialty care)
• The drive to a VA facility exceeds 30 minutes (primary care) or 60 minutes (specialty care)
• The care you need isn't available at your VA facility
• Community care is in your best medical interest4

In 2025, the Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act (the "Dole Act") removed an extra review step, making it faster for eligible veterans to access community care.4

For Illinois veterans in rural areas far from a VA medical center, the MISSION Act can be the difference between getting timely care and waiting months.

How VA Benefits Work with Medicare and Medicaid

VA benefits don't replace Medicare or Medicaid, nothing requires a veteran to enroll in Medicare to keep VA health care, and a veteran or surviving spouse can often receive VA pension and Medicaid at once.12,13 What VA health care and Medicare don't do is coordinate or pay each other: you pick which benefit to use each time you get care, and because VA coverage isn't creditable coverage for Medicare Part B, putting off Part B while you rely on VA care leaves a lifetime penalty that grows every year.12

• VA + Medicare: Many veterans use both. Medicare covers care from non-VA providers, while VA covers care at VA facilities. You can't bill both for the same service, but having both gives you more options.
• VA + Medicaid: Illinois Medicaid is administered by the Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS), and for nursing-home residents it uses a patient-liability model: once a resident qualifies, essentially all of their monthly income goes toward the cost of care, except for a personal needs allowance ($60/month for skilled nursing residents), Medicare premiums, and any protected allowance for a community spouse.5 As a general federal rule, VA pension income is counted toward Medicaid, but the portion paid as Aid and Attendance for unreimbursed medical expenses may be treated differently and is often excluded from the income counted toward the Medicaid income limit. That exclusion is about qualifying, though: once a resident is eligible and living in a medical institution or intermediate care facility, income disregarded in determining eligibility must be considered in the share-of-cost calculation (42 CFR 435.725), so the Aid and Attendance amount does count toward the patient liability owed the facility. Incurred medical expenses are not the only deduction, and they are not the first one. Under 42 CFR 435.725(c) the agency must deduct five amounts from the resident's total income, in this order: (1) a personal needs allowance, reasonable in amount for clothing and other personal needs while in the institution, which Illinois sets at $60 a month for skilled nursing facility residents; (2) for a resident with only a spouse at home, an additional amount for the maintenance needs of that spouse; (3) for a resident with a family at home, an additional amount for the maintenance needs of that family; (4) amounts for incurred expenses for medical or remedial care not subject to payment by a third party, which the regulation says includes Medicare and other health insurance premiums, deductibles, or coinsurance; and (5) the full amount of any SSI and state supplement the resident continues to receive. Only what remains after all five reaches the facility, and each one is a deduction the agency is required to make rather than an allowance a family has to apply for. The spouse and family amounts are measured against state standards rather than a single federal figure, so ask HFS what they would be.5 That section covers people in medical institutions and intermediate care facilities. It does not settle what someone receiving home and community-based waiver services owes toward their care, so confirm that separately with HFS.5 Because this depends on the specific situation, confirm with HFS, the Illinois Department of Human Services, or an accredited Veteran Service Officer before relying on it.5
• Illinois Veterans' Homes offer affordable long-term care and serve veterans alongside these other payment sources.

The interaction between these programs gets complicated. This is where a Veterans Service Officer or elder law attorney earns their value.

How to Access VA Senior Care Benefits in Illinois

Next Steps

If you're caring for a veteran who needs help, start by contacting the Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs through its Veteran Service Office locator. An accredited service officer can assess which benefits apply and help you file, at no charge.

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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.