When Eric* started out with Wellthy, he was struggling and didn’t know where to turn. His father Paul*, a 75-year-old veteran, was given a tough cancer diagnosis while Eric was living across the country. Eric felt overwhelmed trying to provide the support his father needed – and navigate care through the Veterans Administration (the VA). (*Note: names have been changed for privacy)
We know that while one person serves our country, their entire family shares in that sacrifice. Whether it's by providing support during active service thousands of miles from home or by caring for veterans when they return and in the later phases of their lives, military families are the foundation behind our forces.
But as Eric – and anyone who is a veteran or has cared for a veteran – can tell you, navigating the VA can feel close to impossible. This leads to too many of the brave people who served without the quality care they deserve.
In this month that honors our veterans, Wellthy is proud to support veteran caregivers and care recipients by making sure they can fully access their benefits and get the best possible care.
Through Wellthy, veterans and their families are matched with a Care Coordinator, who gets to know their unique situation, provides one-on-one support, and advocates on their behalf. Behind-the-scenes, families also get the help of Wellthy’s Care Adviser team, which includes those with deep expertise in veterans' benefits. “Care Advisers are able to wade through the eligibility requirements and regulations that too often leave veterans without the care they need,” said Care Manager, Angel Garza. “Often, Care Advisers are able to identify key benefits that even the veterans didn’t know they qualified for – and make sure they are able to get access.”
For Eric, his Wellthy Care Coordinator was able to locate in-home health care providers that worked within his father’s veterans benefits, find a support group for him to connect with others with similar conditions, and schedule transportation to and from important medical appointments.
“Veterans Administration regulations can be incredibly frustrating, and this often leaves families unclear on which benefits are available to them, whether or not they qualify as military spouses or children, and whether or not the nature of their service affects their eligibility,” said Angel. Wellthy’s experts are able to serve as the single source of truth in a complex and sometimes confounding system. Wellthy helps veterans and their caregivers understand all the options available to them, identify the questions they need to ask, and which agencies and representatives can answer them. Care Coordinators are able to act as both guides and advocates as caregivers move through their journeys.
Keeping track of the full range of services available to veterans is a full-time job, and it’s not just through the VA – there are thousands of foundations, charities, and non-profit organizations that help veterans. Though the information can be overwhelming, our experts have deep knowledge of all of the options available to Wellthy members and are able to direct caregivers to the best service for their needs.
Caregiving is about more than just helping with medical care, and Wellthy is able to connect veterans and their families with a wide range of financial, housing, legal, and social and emotional supports.
When Jorge’s cancer went into remission, the Care Coordinator continued to routinely check in to provide ongoing support. Jorge started feeling better, and Eric was able to feel the relief of knowing that his father had both the resources and community that he needed during his recovery.
There are thousands of military families across the country in similar situations to Eric and Jorge, and there is a wide range of incredibly complex bureaucratic processes that they are asked to go through to gain access to their benefits –whether it’s navigating insurance, applying for VA home modification grants for home care, or finding appropriate VA-funded housing options.
Wellthy is proud to be able to serve as a guide through the frustrating process of managing veterans’ benefits and help veterans and their caregivers simplify their lives and get access to the benefits that they earned.
If you are a Wellthy member and a veteran, or are caring for a veteran, Wellthy’s team is ready to help provide the support you need. Let’s recommit to not only helping those who served, but standing behind those who do the hard work of caregiving for our veterans.
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