The Board denied the veteran's claim for non-service-connected pension benefits because the in-home attendant fee paid to his spouse could not be considered as a deductible medical expense, and thus did not reduce his countable income.
The deciding factor: The VA regulations require that expenses paid to an in-home attendant may only be considered a 'medical expense' and excluded from countable income for pension purposes if the attendant is a licensed health professional. The veteran's spouse's attendant was not a licensed health professional, so the fee could not be deducted.
- Claimed conditions
- CVA (cerebral vascular accident), atrial fibrillation, intermittent hypotension
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 20, 2001
- Citation
- 0116707
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 0116707.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for atrial fibrillation and distressed heart (previously claimed as irregular heartbeat) based on evidence of a link to the Veteran's military service.
- Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for right groin pain, hypertension, atrial fibrillation, cardiac arrest residuals, left kidney disease, stroke residuals, vertigo, and vision loss. The evidence does not support a finding that any of these conditions were incurred in or are otherwise related to service.,The Board found no credible evidence showing the Veteran experienced any of these conditions during his active duty service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that new and relevant evidence has been received for the claims of service connection for bilateral dry eye disorder, atrial fibrillation (including as secondary to hypertension), left eye disorder other than dry eye including amaurosis fugax, and right foot or ankle disorder (including as secondary to left foot and/or left ankle disability). The appeals are remanded due to insufficient evidence in the current record.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's atrial fibrillation is at least as likely as not related to his active-duty service and grants service connection for this condition.
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