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.