Can a Nursing Home apply to the Veterans Administration for a Veterans Pension, just so the Nursing Home can squeeze more money out of the Patient; AND NOT TELL THE PATIENT'S FAMILY THEY DID IT ??

Better ask a Lawyer that question

Does the Nursing have full power of attorney?

when we check on nursing home for dad they said they would take everything he had coming in for income ss. pen.an vet.bef.

we didn't put him there

I am not a lawyer but from what I understand essentially yes. They start with your cash assets and when that runs out they go with as, Medicaid, military benis etc......

Yes, whatever is not covered by insurance comes out of whatever is left. Assets, social security, pensions etc. Also any property transferred in the previous 5 years unless sold is included.

Unless your veteran has enough cash to sustain his stay in the nursing home I would say they can go after all assets he or she may have to cover costs of his or hers stay.
Are you upset because the nursing home is going to collect his pension or because they did not contact family before applying for his pension?
I am only guessing but I would bet this is not the first time they have applied for someone's pension and or any other income the patient may be collecting.

From my experience they will take all income to help pay for their care. When that person runs out of money then the state/Gov. will pick up the balance for the cost of the home. At that time you will be filling out papers for the process and some of those questions are about military service. If that person has served in any fashion they will ask you to see if that person is eligible for benefits. You will have to have proof that you contacted the Veterans Ad. and proof of their findings.

Some of the benefits from the service are specified to be used only for that persons desires and not to be used for home care. So if you don't spend it on person desire then it might go to pay for nursing home care.

I suspect all of this is spelled out in the original admissions documents that were filled out when he was admitted.

Still they're Leeches!!!

They're leeches for needing to get paid for providing a service???? Imagine that....

My faith in logical thinking humans gets smaller by the day.

Same thing I deal with. I provide services, and if you don't pay I'll find any way I can to make sure my company and employees get paid. That includes court/putting a lien on your assets.

I’m not sure of the right answer you would have to get legal advice but when my wife’s grandmother was in a nursing home they charged $130 per day for her care and as long as that was paid monthly there were happy. After she passed the money that was left in her estate was divided up for her children.

Wife was an RNAC at a nursing home until she retired a couple years ago. She says.......

Medicare pays if you have a need for skilled service, as in..had an accident and need therapy or the need for the skills of a nurse. Medicare DOES NOT pay for custodial care.

For this custodial care,(living there because you can't take care of yourself) they take private funds and/or state assistance. This is where they go after your income such as Social security or pensions.

How are they leeches? Do you know much it costs to keep somebody in a home? People will jump through all kinds of hoops to hide assets and let the taxpayers pick up the bill....who's the leech in that scenario?

Of course it is legal.

The only alternative you have is caring for him yourself, or placing him into a federal VA home, as my Uncle is about to enter into, but with less seizure of benefits. I think it is 40% if you qualify.
For those who are interested in the background on this, and each of you should get your house in order now literally, is that farmers discovered after working their entire lives, that they entered nursing homes, and the nursing homes were seizing their now expensive farms from the families. The legality of it is that stupid people who wanted only their names on their property, would have nursing homes seize all the property as it was only in their name.
Family farms were alerted to that in the 1980's and they began that ETAL and ETUX or others on the land, meaning children they could trust, and in that way it kept the property from being seized for healthcare. I believe the seizure can transfer to all assets like CD's too, so other people's names had to be on it.
Some families moved to legal trusts to protect their assets in properties.

Concerning my idiot Uncle, he was one of those "only his name on things", so his place is open to seizure. I am not sure about the VA, but in a way I hope it is, because no one should be stuck paying for someone else if they have assets they were too selfish to deal with. I was informed though by a cousin who works in elderly health situations for the state that property has to have been joint listed for seven years or the nursing homes have every right to seize it.

So for those who think they can place their elderly into facilities and still walk away with the cash or keep the property, that is not how it is legally and has been that way for some time. I just happen to have lived in a rural area where I saw farms seized which set off alarms in the community and people started planning for that.

I doubt there is any legal protection for benefits, but at the very least people still can protect some assets. But again, it goes to the point of why should poor people who pay taxes be stuck with the bills for nursing homes of wealthy people who are hiding their assets like Warren Buffett who made a billion dollar foundation trust for his kid to run, so the kid will be rich all of his days. It is always the middle class who does not plan for things who get the sticker shock.
Whether people like it or not, it is going to cost in talking to a lawyer, do estate planning and legally protecting what assets they can.

Might consider talking to a VA Vet Rep, Patients Advocate, or a Vet Rep at any VFW or American Legion Post.