VA Aid and Attendance in Louisiana can raise a married wartime veteran's yearly pension ceiling to $34,488 when they need regular help with tasks like bathing, dressing, or eating. Surviving spouses can qualify too, through the Survivors Pension, which carries its own Aid and Attendance rates. Aid and Attendance is a federal benefit, so the rates are the same in Louisiana as anywhere else.

Free, accredited help filing is available from the Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs and its service offices around the state.

In This Guide

What Is Aid and Attendance?

Aid and Attendance (A&A) is an enhanced VA pension benefit for wartime veterans who need help with everyday activities, and surviving spouses have their own Aid and Attendance rates under the Survivors Pension. It isn't a separate program. Qualifying for it lifts the Maximum Annual Pension Rate (MAPR), the ceiling Congress sets on your whole pension, from $17,441 to $29,093 a year for a veteran with no dependents.

You may qualify if you need another person to help you with daily activities like bathing, feeding, and dressing. In weighing that need, the VA considers factors set out in federal regulation, including:

  • Being unable to dress or undress yourself, or to keep yourself ordinarily clean and presentable
  • Being unable to feed yourself
  • Being unable to use the toilet on your own
  • Frequently needing a special prosthetic or orthopedic appliance adjusted, when your disability means it can't be done without aid
  • A physical or mental incapacity that requires regular care to protect you from the hazards of daily life

Not all of these need to be present, and the need only has to be regular, not constant.

You can also qualify if you have to stay in bed, or spend a large part of the day in bed, because of illness; are a patient in a nursing home because of the loss of mental or physical abilities related to a disability; or have limited eyesight (even with glasses or contact lenses, 5/200 or less in both eyes, or concentric contraction of the visual field to 5 degrees or less).

The VA describes Aid and Attendance as monthly payments added to the amount of your monthly VA pension.

Do You Qualify?

To receive Aid and Attendance, the veteran must not have received a dishonorable discharge, and you have to meet all four of these requirements.

1. Wartime service. The length of service you need turns on when you started active duty, not on which war you served in. If you started active duty before September 8, 1980, you need at least 90 days of active duty with at least one day during a recognized wartime period. If you started active duty as an enlisted person after September 7, 1980, you generally need at least 24 months (with some exceptions), or the full period you were called or ordered to active duty, with at least one day during wartime. The third path the VA lists is for a veteran who started active duty as an officer after October 16, 1981 and hadn't previously served on active duty for at least 24 months, again with at least one day during wartime. Recognized wartime periods include World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the Gulf War, which began August 2, 1990 and has no closing date set yet, so it takes in post-9/11 service.

2. Age, disability, nursing-home status, or SSDI/SSI. The VA lists four alternatives, and meeting any one of them satisfies this test: the veteran is at least 65 years old; has a permanent and total disability; is a patient in a nursing home for long-term care because of a disability; or is getting Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income.

3. Need for assistance. At least one of the need-for-aid tests described above must be true: needing another person's help with daily activities, having to stay in bed (or spend a large part of the day there) because of illness, being a nursing-home patient because of the loss of mental or physical abilities related to a disability, or the eyesight limit.

4. Net worth under $163,699. This is the 2026 limit. It counts your assets plus your annual income combined, including a dependent's. Your primary home, your car, and basic home items don't count.

Surviving spouses qualify too. A surviving spouse can apply for the Survivors Pension with Aid and Attendance, whose 2026 yearly ceiling for a surviving spouse with no dependents is $18,697. LDVA's counselors help Louisiana veterans and their families file VA claims free of charge.

2026 VA Aid and Attendance Rates in Louisiana

The VA calculates your payment as the difference between your countable income and the Maximum Annual Pension Rate (MAPR) for your category. The VA publishes these rates as annual amounts. Pension is paid monthly: by federal regulation, your yearly ceiling minus your countable income, divided by 12 and rounded down to the whole dollar.

Category Maximum Annual Pension Rate
Veteran, no dependents $29,093
Veteran with spouse $34,488
Two veterans married to each other (both A&A) $46,143
Surviving spouse, no dependents $18,697
Surviving spouse with one dependent child $22,304
Veteran, no dependents (Housebound) $21,313
Veteran, no dependents (basic pension) $17,441
Each additional dependent +$2,984 a year

Here's how the math works, with hypothetical numbers. If a veteran with a spouse has $12,000 in annual countable income and qualifies for A&A, the VA pays the difference: $34,488 minus $12,000 leaves $22,488 a year, paid monthly as one-twelfth of that, rounded down to the dollar. Unreimbursed medical expenses can reduce your countable income and raise your benefit, but only the part above 5% of the MAPR, which the VA prints for 2026 as $872 for a veteran with no spouse or child, $1,141 for a veteran with one dependent, and $584 for a surviving spouse with no dependent child.

The Net Worth Limit and 3-Year Lookback

The 2026 net worth limit is $163,699. This combines your assets with your annual income.

What counts: the fair market value of the real and personal property you own, minus any mortgages on it, plus your annual income for VA purposes, and a married veteran's total includes a spouse's net worth.

What doesn't count: your primary residence, your car, and basic home items like appliances. The home's exclusion covers a residential lot of up to 2 acres (marketable land beyond that counts as an asset), and the home stays excluded even if you move into a nursing home.

That house may be worth something on the tax side, too. LDVA lists a property tax exemption among the state benefits it points veterans to, on a track entirely separate from the VA pension you are applying for here. Our guide to the Louisiana disabled veteran property tax exemption covers who can claim it and how to file with your parish assessor.

The 3-Year Lookback Rule

The VA reviews any assets you transferred for less than fair market value in the three years (36 months) before the VA receives your claim. If during that window you transferred an asset for less than fair market value, and keeping it would have put your net worth over the limit, the VA will assess a penalty period of up to five years in which you aren't entitled to pension.,

Putting money into an annuity, a trust, or another investment that lowers your net worth also counts as a transfer for less than fair market value, unless you can cash out the whole balance for your own use, in which case the VA counts it as net worth. If you're weighing a move like that, a VA-accredited representative (a VSO representative, claims agent, or attorney) can help you with the pension claim.

How to Apply for VA Aid and Attendance in Louisiana

The pension route takes two forms and a medical exam (plus a third form if you're in an assisted living facility or a nursing home), and an optional intent-to-file form can protect your effective date before you send anything else. LDVA's veterans assistance counselors file these claims for Louisiana veterans free of charge.

1
Step 1

File an intent to file, if you're still gathering information

Submitting VA Form 21-0966 (Intent to File) first can secure the earliest possible effective date for any retroactive payments you may be eligible to receive, which is worth doing while you collect records.

2
Step 2

Get a medical examination

A medical examiner fills out the examination information section of VA Form 21-2680 (Examination for Housebound Status or Permanent Need for Regular Aid and Attendance), to document your need for assistance. This is the form for Aid and Attendance whether the benefit will be added to a VA pension or to monthly compensation. If you're in an assisted living facility or a nursing home, you also need VA Form 21-0779, which the VA's form listing says a nursing home official uses to verify that you're a patient in a qualifying extended care facility.

3
Step 3

Complete the pension application (the pension route)

If you're a wartime veteran not already receiving VA pension, submit VA Form 21P-527EZ (Application for Veterans Pension) as well. If you receive VA disability compensation instead, the VA describes Form 21-2680 as covering Aid and Attendance that will be added to monthly compensation, too.

4
Step 4

Submit everything

You can apply online at VA.gov, mail the forms to the VA Pension Intake Center, bring them in person to a VA regional office, or get help filing from an accredited attorney, claims agent, or VSO representative.

5
Step 5

Wait for a decision

Asked how long a decision takes, the VA answers "It depends." It works through claims in the order it receives them, unless a claim requires priority processing.

Documents to Gather First

For a Veterans Pension claim, the VA says you'll need to submit, or give it permission to gather:

  • Your DD214 or other separation documents
  • Your service treatment records
  • Medical evidence related to your illness or injury, like doctor's reports, X-rays, and medical test results

For a Survivors Pension claim, it asks for the Veteran's DD214 or other separation documents and death certificate showing cause of death. A surviving spouse also needs evidence of the marriage: that the two of you were married for at least 1 year immediately before the Veteran's death, had a child born before or during the marriage, or married before a fixed date based on certain wartime periods. Before you fill out the veterans application, the VA also tells you to have on hand your Social Security number, your VA file number if you have one, your military, marital, and work history, information about your dependents, and your household's gross monthly income, assets, and unreimbursed medical expenses.

Free Help in Louisiana: LDVA and Parish Service Offices

You don't have to file this claim alone. Free, accredited help is available from LDVA service offices around the state.

The Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs (LDVA)

The Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs, known as LDVA, employs federal VA-accredited veterans assistance counselors who staff its 74 service offices around the state. These counselors, all veterans themselves, file claims to the federal VA on behalf of Louisiana veterans free of charge, primarily claims for compensation and pension, and they educate veterans on available state and federal benefits. LDVA appeals paralegals assist veterans with appeals pending before the federal VA's Board of Veterans Appeals, including representation at hearings. You can find your nearest service office using LDVA's locator or by calling (225) 219-5000.

Louisiana's State Veterans Homes

LDVA also operates five state veterans homes: the Northwest Louisiana Veterans Home in Bossier City, the Northeast Louisiana Veterans Home in Monroe, the Southwest Louisiana Veterans Home in Jennings, the Southeast Louisiana Veterans Home in Reserve, and the Louisiana Veterans Home in Jackson. LDVA says they cost much less than a traditional nursing home, where private rates typically run $6,000 to $7,000 a month or more, and lists 24/7 RN coverage, a full-time pharmacist, dietician and master's-level social worker, veterans assistance counselors on staff, and a memory care wing among their features.

LDVA says Louisiana veterans honorably discharged, wartime or peacetime, with 90 days of active duty can live there, as can eligible Guard and Reservists, spouses of veterans, and Gold Star parents. Its admissions application adds that a non-resident can be admitted on referral from an in-state VA medical center or an LDVA counselor, and that a divorced spouse loses eligibility.

Per LDVA's fee schedule, veterans with a service-connected rating of 70% or higher, or admitted with a diagnosis related to their service connection, may be eligible to live there free. Veterans rated below 70% may be eligible for a monthly fee of $2,424, which LDVA says the federal VA sets and changes annually; spouses, Gold Star parents, and eligible Guard or Reservists, $5,500 a month, subject to change. Those posted rates aren't flat: the fee rests on combined household financial resources, and the administrator may consider waiving only the gap between the veteran's (and spouse's) income and the full charge. A counselor at the home helps residents apply for the VA pension and Aid and Attendance to ease that cost.

Louisiana's Veteran Population

The VA's National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics puts Louisiana's veteran population at 247,044 for 2025 in its FY2025 Louisiana state summary, a modelled estimate rather than a head count, and 43.1% of them, 106,525 people, are 65 or older.

A word of caution: be wary of companies that charge fees to help with VA claims. Only accredited attorneys and claims agents may charge you at all, and they may charge only for representation provided after the VA has issued notice of its initial decision on your claim, so, apart from narrow exceptions, no one should charge you to prepare and file the initial pension application. LDVA's counselors file claims for you free of charge. So does an accredited Veterans Service Organization representative: a VSO representative's services on a VA benefit claim are always free.

How Aid and Attendance Works with Louisiana Medicaid

Aid and Attendance and Louisiana Medicaid, run within the Louisiana Department of Health by its Bureau of Health Services Financing, are separate programs, run by different agencies and under different rules. A veteran can receive both at the same time, but the two count money differently.

  • The two programs test eligibility separately. Aid and Attendance is paid as part of your monthly VA pension. Louisiana Medicaid tests long-term-care eligibility on income and assets under its own, separate rules.
  • The Aid and Attendance amount is not counted at Medicaid eligibility. At the eligibility step, Louisiana applies SSI income rules, under which the Aid and Attendance allowance is not counted as income at all, so only the basic pension counts toward Medicaid's income limit.
  • Eligibility is only the first step. For residents of medical institutions and intermediate care facilities, 42 CFR 435.725 says income disregarded at eligibility must be considered afterward, and Louisiana's Medicaid Eligibility Manual counts A&A in long-term-care patient liability, the amount the resident must pay toward the monthly cost of care. It does not all reach the facility, though. The agency must first deduct, in order, a personal needs allowance, an amount for the maintenance needs of a spouse or family at home, unreimbursed medical or remedial care expenses, and any SSI and state supplementary payments the resident still receives. The personal needs allowance has a federal floor, not a fixed federal amount. A state may also, at its option, deduct an amount to keep up the home for up to 6 months when a physician certifies a likely return. The manual's patient-liability steps cover long-term-care cases as well as medically needy spend-down cases in long-term care and in home and community-based services, so ask the Louisiana Department of Health how they apply to you.
  • A nursing-home pension reduction can apply. Under federal law, a veteran with no spouse or child, or a surviving spouse with no child, in Medicaid-covered nursing-facility care has their VA pension capped at $90 per month. The statute starts the cap after the month of admission and the VA's regulation after the month Medicaid payments begin, so confirm the start month with the VA. The veteran keeps the $90 rather than having it offset against what Medicaid pays the facility, and whether it adds to Louisiana's personal needs allowance or replaces it is a state rule. Louisiana's manual doesn't count a pension the VA has actually reduced to $90 toward patient liability; it protects it within the personal care needs allowance, so ask the Department how it computes yours. The cap doesn't apply in a State veterans home for which the VA pays a nursing-home per diem; ask an accredited Veteran Service Officer whether that covers your Louisiana home.
  • Your numbers depend on your household. How these rules land depends on your household's other income and expenses, so confirm your own figures with the Louisiana Department of Health and an accredited benefits counselor before relying on either program to pay for care.

For the bigger picture of how Louisiana families pay for long-term care, start with our guide to the cost of senior care in Louisiana.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does VA Aid and Attendance pay in Louisiana in 2026?

The maximum depends on your situation. For 2026 the yearly ceiling with Aid and Attendance is $29,093 for a veteran alone, $34,488 for a veteran with a spouse, and $18,697 for a surviving spouse with no dependents. The VA pays monthly: your ceiling minus your countable income, divided by 12 and rounded down to the whole dollar, and unreimbursed medical expenses above the VA's 5% threshold (listed in the rates section) can lower that income and raise your benefit.

Where can I get free help applying in Louisiana?

Contact the Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs, which staffs accredited veterans assistance counselors in its 74 service offices statewide, or call (225) 219-5000. Their counselors file claims to the federal VA for free. An accredited attorney or claims agent may charge fees, but only for work after the VA has issued notice of its initial decision on the claim, so, apart from narrow exceptions, no one should charge you to prepare and file the initial application.

Can I receive Aid and Attendance and Louisiana Medicaid at the same time?

Yes. A veteran can receive both. At eligibility only the basic pension counts as Louisiana Medicaid income, not the A&A amount, though Louisiana's manual counts A&A later, in a nursing-home resident's patient liability, unless the VA has reduced the pension to $90. Unreimbursed medical expenses above a 5% threshold can be deducted for VA purposes. Because the precise treatment varies by case, confirm with the Louisiana Department of Health and an accredited benefits counselor before relying on either program.

How long does it take to get approved?

The VA's own answer is "It depends." It works through claims in the order it receives them, unless a claim requires priority processing.

What if the VA denies my claim?

A denial isn't the end of the road. If the VA turns down your Aid and Attendance claim or grants less than you expected, you have three decision review options: a Supplemental Claim (submit new and relevant evidence the VA didn't have when it reviewed your case before), a Higher-Level Review (a higher-level reviewer re-examines the case to decide whether an error or a difference of opinion changes the decision, with no new evidence submitted), or an appeal to the Board of Veterans' Appeals (a Veterans Law Judge reviews your case). For most VA benefits you have 1 year from the date on the decision letter to request a Higher-Level Review or a Board appeal; some benefits have shorter time limits, and your decision letter states the deadline. A Supplemental Claim can be filed at any time, though the VA recommends filing within 1 year of the decision letter to keep your effective date. An accredited VSO representative can help you with the review, and their services are always free; the VA benefits hotline is 800-827-1000 (TTY 711). LDVA's appeals paralegals also assist veterans with appeals pending before the Board of Veterans' Appeals, including representation at hearings.

Learn More

MedicaidMedicaid Planning StrategiesSee which assets you keep, how the 5-year look-back works, and the legal moves that qualify you for Medicaid long-term care without losing the house. Care TypesCost of Senior Care in LouisianaWhat senior care costs in Louisiana in 2026: assisted living runs about $5,163 a month, a nursing home about $91,250 a year. See every setting and how to pay. Care TypesAssisted Living in LouisianaAssisted living in Louisiana runs about $5,163/month, well below the national median. The four ARCP license levels, what it costs, and who pays the bill. Care TypesNursing Homes in LouisianaNursing homes in Louisiana in 2026: a semi-private room runs about $91,250 a year, below the national median. How to check quality and how Medicaid pays. Care TypesMemory Care in LouisianaLouisiana has no memory care license, but any Alzheimer's special care unit must put in writing what makes it special. See what to ask and what it costs. Care TypesAssisted Living vs. Nursing Home in LouisianaAssisted living vs. a nursing home in Louisiana comes down to care level and who pays: about $5,163/month private-pay vs. about $91,250/year for nursing care.
Your next step Find personalized help applying for VA Aid and Attendance in Louisiana at brevy.com.

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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