VA Home Care Benefits in Tennessee: Community Care, Aid & Attendance, and HHA Programs

Three VA home care programs, one Google query

Most families start the same way: a veteran's needs change, someone hears the VA "pays for home care," and a single search turns up Aid & Attendance, Homemaker/HHA, and Community Care all at once. They are three different things, and the practical difference comes down to who holds the money.

Aid & Attendance hands cash to the veteran. Homemaker/HHA hands a paid assignment to an agency. Community Care is the network and referral process that connects an eligible veteran to a community provider in the first place. A veteran can use more than one — for example, receiving HHA hours through Community Care while also collecting Aid & Attendance to pay for additional help the VA doesn't authorize.

Aid & Attendance — what it is and who qualifies

Aid & Attendance (A&A) is an increased monthly pension paid on top of the basic VA Veterans Pension. It's for wartime veterans (and their surviving spouses) who need help with everyday activities, are bedridden, live in a nursing facility, or have severely limited eyesight. Because it's paid as cash, the family can use it for a home caregiver, an assisted living facility, or any other care expense.

Three requirements have to line up: a service requirement, a clinical need, and a financial test.

• Service requirement — at least 90 days of active duty with at least one day during a wartime period, and a discharge other than dishonorable. Veterans who entered active duty after September 7, 1980 generally must meet a longer 24-month service requirement.
• Clinical need — the veteran (or surviving spouse) needs another person to help with activities of daily living such as bathing, dressing, eating, or managing medication; is largely confined to bed; is a patient in a nursing home; or has severely limited eyesight. VA Form 21-2680, completed by a physician, documents this need.
• Financial test (2026) — the net worth limit is $163,699 from December 1, 2025 through November 30, 2026. Net worth combines countable assets and annual income; the primary home (on a reasonable lot), one vehicle, and personal belongings don't count. A 36-month look-back applies to asset transfers made to qualify.

The benefit is structured as a Maximum Annual Pension Rate (MAPR). The VA pays the difference between the veteran's countable income and the applicable MAPR ceiling, so lower income means a larger A&A payment. The 2026 ceilings, effective December 1, 2025 with a 2.8% cost-of-living increase, are:

2026 Aid & Attendance rates

These are the maximum annual pension rates with Aid & Attendance for 2026. The monthly figure is the practical number most families plan around — it's the largest amount the VA will pay when the veteran has no other countable income.

• Single veteran, no dependents — $29,093 per year ($2,424 per month).
• Veteran with one dependent — $34,488 per year ($2,874 per month).
• Two married veterans, both needing Aid & Attendance — $46,143 per year ($3,845 per month).
• Surviving spouse, no dependents — $18,697 per year ($1,558 per month).

Homemaker and Home Health Aide (HHA) — the VA's service benefit

Homemaker and Home Health Aide care is what most VA-paid home care actually looks like in practice. Unlike Aid & Attendance, no cash changes hands with the family — the VA authorizes a community agency to provide care and pays the agency directly under the VA fee schedule.

HHA is a clinical service, so it's authorized through the veteran's care team rather than applied for like a pension. A VA social worker or the Geriatrics and Extended Care (GEC) program assesses the need and writes the referral.

• What it covers — help with bathing, dressing, grooming, toileting, transfers and mobility, meal preparation, light housekeeping, and grocery shopping. It's non-medical personal care, the same core work a home care aide provides under any other funding pathway.
• How it's authorized — a VA social worker or the GEC team evaluates the veteran and authorizes a set number of hours. If the local VA medical center can't provide the service directly, the team issues a Community Care referral to a network agency.
• Copays — whether a veteran owes a copay depends on their service-connected disability status and VA priority group. Veterans with qualifying service-connected conditions often owe nothing; others may have a modest copay.
• Who it fits — veterans already enrolled in VA health care who need ongoing hands-on help at home but don't necessarily meet the wartime-and-financial test that Aid & Attendance requires.

VA Community Care Network — how Tennessee veterans reach community providers

The Community Care Network (CCN) is the VA's contracted network of non-VA providers. When a VA medical center can't deliver a service — because of distance, wait time, or capacity — the VA refers the veteran to a community provider in the network and pays for the authorized care. For home care, this is the mechanism that connects a veteran to an agency like Resource One.

The network is organized into regions, each run by a third-party administrator that handles provider contracts and claims. Tennessee is currently in Region 3, administered by Optum. (The VA is consolidating its five regions into two — East and West — during 2026; under the proposed map Tennessee falls in the East region. The transition is still underway, so the administrator and region number may change.)

• Why CCN exists — it gives veterans access to care close to home when the VA itself can't provide it, without the veteran paying out of pocket.
• How a veteran gets in — by referral from the VA, not by self-application. The veteran's VA social worker, PACT (Patient Aligned Care Team), or GEC team initiates the Community Care referral.
• Why the authorization matters — community care is only covered when there's an approved referral and authorization on file before care begins. The authorization number is what lets the agency bill the network administrator rather than the family.

How to apply — by program

The path depends on which program fits. Aid & Attendance is something you file for; HHA and Community Care come by referral from the VA care team.

• Aid & Attendance, already on a VA pension — submit VA Form 21-2680 (the physician's statement of A&A need) to add the increased benefit to the existing pension.
• Aid & Attendance, not yet on a pension — file a VA Veterans Pension claim first; A&A is added to it. Applications go to the Pension Intake Center (PO Box 5365, Janesville, WI 53547-5365), online at va.gov, or in person at a VA regional office.
• Homemaker/HHA — ask the veteran's VA social worker or Geriatrics and Extended Care team for a Homemaker/Home Health Aide assessment. If the VA can't staff it directly, request a Community Care referral to a network agency.
• Community Care home health — initiated by the VA care team, not by the veteran directly. The veteran asks their social worker or PACT team to start the referral.
• Free, accredited help — Veterans Service Organizations (DAV, VFW, American Legion) and accredited VA claims agents help file pension and A&A claims at no charge. Be cautious of services that charge a percentage of the benefit to file the paperwork.

Tennessee has three VA medical centers that coordinate this care: the Memphis VA Medical Center, the Tennessee Valley (Nashville) system, and Mountain Home (Johnson City). West Tennessee veterans are served primarily through Memphis.

What to look for in a VA-paid home care agency

Whether care is funded by Aid & Attendance (the family hires directly) or HHA/Community Care (the VA authorizes the agency), the same things separate a reliable provider from a risky one.

• Community Care Network participation — for HHA and Community Care referrals, the agency has to be contracted with the regional network administrator so the VA authorization can be billed.
• Familiarity with VA authorizations and billing — an agency that understands referral numbers, authorized hours, and the VA fee schedule won't leave the family caught between the agency and the VA over a billing gap.
• Experience with veteran-specific needs — trauma-informed care, mobility and transfer support, and low-vision accommodations come up often with older veterans.
• The same baseline any family should expect — state licensure, thorough background screening, bonding and insurance, and a consistent caregiver rather than a rotating cast.

Resource One participates in the VA Community Care Network and serves veterans across 21 West Tennessee counties from offices in Memphis and Jackson, alongside the eight other funding pathways we handle.

VA home care vs. TennCare CHOICES vs. private pay

Some veterans qualify for more than one funding pathway, and the right one depends on the situation. A quick orientation:

• VA programs — the natural first stop for a wartime veteran or surviving spouse. Aid & Attendance adds cash; HHA/Community Care provides VA-funded service hours. Eligibility turns on service history and VA enrollment.
• TennCare CHOICES — Tennessee's Medicaid program for long-term home and community-based care, for adults 65+ or with disabilities who meet income, asset, and nursing-facility-level-of-care tests. A veteran who doesn't qualify for A&A may still qualify here.
• Private pay — paying out of pocket (or through long-term care insurance) when no program applies, when care is needed immediately before an authorization comes through, or to add hours beyond what a program authorizes. Aid & Attendance cash is frequently used this way.