A new program to aid disabled veterans is now available to nationwide, however, one company, Ozark Independent Living is helping veterans who reside in Arkansas and Missouri, especially to those who reside in rural areas.
According to Lori Cox, Veteran Directed Care Manager at Ozark Independent Living the new program is not the caregiver program veterans have become accustomed to.
“This is the Veteran Directed Program and is fairly new. It is put out by the VA and is a nationwide program, but not all the VAs have it yet. They are supposed to by 2026,” Cox said. “If a veteran is 70 percent service connected or lives in a rural area where it is hard to get home health, this can benefit them. Just living in a rural area where it’s hard to get healthcare can qualify them.. A veteran can get a referral from their primary care provider and the VA social worker does an assessment. Then, the social worker puts them in a case mix category according to their disability. The higher the disability the higher the pay available for a caregiver.”
Cox said budgets through the program begin at approximately $2,000 and move upward depending on the ranking of disability.
“They can hire up to four caregivers and that can be a spouse, friend or family member. Another thing about this program that other home health programs don’t have is that in this program, if there’s any money left over, they can use for goods and services that the VA doesn’t supply,” Cox said.
One example provided was a veteran who resides in a camper and sends his laundry to be washed, dried and folded elsewhere.
“They can, with approval, use their budget to pay for those things,” Cox said. “It is an excellent program. We do have case managers here at Ozark Independent Living that help with payroll, getting caregivers hired, case management and we visit with the veteran every three months. We also do monthly check-ins by phone to make sure things are getting done that are supposed to be.”
When asked if there was a cost to the veteran, Cox said there is no tax liability to the veteran and Ozark Independent Living will oversee payroll and issuing W2s to the employees.
“This is not an income guideline-based program. It is only based on the veteran’s disability. There is no tax liability to the veteran. It is a great program and I wish more veterans knew about it. The veterans who do find out wonder why they didn’t know sooner or why it’s not offered at more VMCs,” Cox said. “Once we get the initial paperwork done, it’s an easy program after that. They just see us once every three months and we help with all the paperwork. There’s not much the veteran has to do except to sign paperwork.”
Cox said she would encourage any veteran who may qualify to speak with their primary care provider.
For more information or to learn more about the Veterans Directed Care Program call 417-256-8714.
Lauren is a an award-winning journalist who decided after 10 years of newspaper experience to venture out. Hallmark Times was born.
