According to the VA, 23% of veterans in the U.S., nearly 5.2 million individuals, live in rural areas.1 The VHA serves more than 3 million rural veterans, and 56% of those enrolled in the VA system are aged ≥ 65 years.1 Thus, aging veterans in rural areas constitute a substantial group who need support and assistance from the VA. Fortunately, the VA offers numerous benefits for veterans that support aging in place and improve quality of life through the VHA, Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), and National Cemetery Administration (NCA).
Despite the opportunities, many VA benefits go unclaimed. In some cases, veterans simply do not know these benefits exist.2 In a 2010 VA report, only 41% of veterans indicated that they understood their benefits “a lot” or “some.”2 However, their understanding of specific benefits tended to be lower. For example, many veterans stated that they had “heard about” burial options at VA cemeteries (41.5%), but few understood specific benefits, such as cash burial allowances (10.6%).2
Many veterans also hold misperceptions about eligibility, which prevents them from applying. For example, some veterans believe that a high income or lack of combat service disqualifies them from receiving VA benefits.3 Some veterans believe that others are more deserving of VA services, and they don’t want to “take a spot someone else needs.”3 Finally, some veterans hold negative attitudes about the VA, making them less likely to claim VA benefits, such as health care.4
For rural veterans, accessing benefits can be especially difficult, because most VA facilities that offer assistance are in urban centers.5 Though online access to benefit information is improving through programs like My HealtheVet and public facing websites, some older adults do not use computers, and Internet and mobile phone connectivity are often limited in rural communities.6 Nearly 43% of rural veterans do not have broadband Internet in their homes.1 Moreover, the complexity of navigating benefits information via the Internet can be a frustrating and confusing process for older veterans.6
Accessing services and benefits in the community is similarly difficult. For more than 30 years, community organizations have noted the frustration that clients experienced with navigating a complex network of community providers who provide long-term services and supports (LTSS).7,8 In 2003, the Administration on Aging and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services developed the Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC) program to promote a “no wrong door” approach for LTSS. Aging and Disability Resource Centers are a single point of entry into a network of community, state, and federal LTSS for older adults and individuals with disabilities.8 Options counselors at ADRCs provide information, counseling, and assistance with connecting to a vast network of programs such as Social Security, Medicaid, local transportation, Meals on Wheels, and housing assistance through a single office.
Backround
In 2012, VHA Office of Rural Health Resource (ORH) and Utah ADRC conducted a national survey of ADRC sites about their experiences working with veterans and found that 95% of ADRCs always or usually asked clients about their veteran status. The survey found that veteran clients present to ADRCs with diverse needs, many of which could be addressed through a VA benefit. However, the majority (58%) of ADRC respondents reported that they had never attempted to help a veteran apply for VA benefits (unpublished data, 2012).
Respondents reported a limited understanding of VA benefits, infrequent contact with VA, and frustrations with the VA system. Although familiar with several sources for information about VA benefits (eg, toll-free number, websites, local VA facilities, etc), respondents generally found these sources unhelpful and insufficient for answering their questions. The only positive anecdotal comments that respondents made regarding VA were from those with personal relationships with employees at the VA who could help with veteran needs. Finally, all respondents reported a need for more information about VA benefits and to assist them with helping veteran clients.
Survey Response
In 2013, the ORH and the VA Salt Lake City Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center (GRECC), under the sponsorship of the VA Office of Geriatrics and Extended Care (GEC), developed a collaborative demonstration with the Utah ADRC to address the needs identified in this survey. Connecting Older Veterans (Especially Rural) to Community or Veteran Eligible Resources (COVER to COVER) is a demonstration project designed to create a new access point for VA benefits for veterans living in rural areas. The pilot had 2 aims: (1) train ADRC options counselors as Veteran Benefits Specialists (VBSs); and (2) build relationships between the ADRCs and VA to facilitate information and referral.
