Veterans Home Care LLC

We are looking into this complaintThe complaint itself is difficult to follow in its redacted formWe hope to have our review completed next week

We have spoken with our client and her son As we explained to them, this matter is under investigationUnder the Services Contract and Loan Agreement with VHC, our client arranged to receive a specified number of hours of home care per month (47) at an agreed upon hourly rate through one of our subcontracting agencies starting in February When she moved at the end of May 2015, we were advised that the agency was continuing care at her new location The family first advised us in October that the agency was not providing the care that it was reporting and invoicing to usInitially the family indicated it wanted to move forward with the home care, we were working to restart the care when the the family instead decided to cancel services We are now working with the home care provider to reconcile the hours of care actually provided with the hours invoiced and once our reconciliation is complete we will be refunding this client and balance due to her

We have spoken with Mrs [redacted] Under her Services Contract and Loan Agreement with VHC, starting in May 2014, Mrs [redacted] arranged to receive a specified number of hours of home care per month (47) at an agreed upon hourly rate ($per hour) VHC offered her a no interest loan to cover the costs of the homecare Mrs [redacted] agreed to repay the loan once she started to receive VA benefits that would cover the homecareShe agreed to make loan payments each month via an ACH withdrawal from her bank account The VA benefit is a reimbursement benefit that reimburses the recipient after that recipient has paid for the care Therefore, the loan continues on a monthly basis so that Mrs [redacted] is never out of pocket the money to pay for the care Mrs [redacted] used the funds to pay the care providers for their time and for their mileageOur records show that by the start of she had accumulated unused hours of home care(In essence VHC had loaned her the funds to pay for hours of care more than she received and she had repaid the loan for this amount.) To address this accrual, VHC arranged with Mrs [redacted] that she would not be loaned any funds and therefore not invoiced for loan payments until she used all of her accumulated hours As a result, she was not loaned funds for January and therefore she would not receive a loan payment invoice in February In January she used hours of homecare leaving her a balance of accumulated homecare hours In February used hours- more than she had remaining and therefore VHC reinstituted her regular contract, she was loaned funds for the number of hours of care specified in the contract (47)VHC attempted to take an ACH payment in March to cover the February loan obligationMrs [redacted] was credited for the hours the loaned funds provided, which resulted in a credit of accumulated hoursThe February payment bounced and remained unpaidPursuant to the contract, she was loaned money in March for hours (and credited those hours) but only used hours, cancelling the services effective March 3, At the time she cancelled Mrs [redacted] owed VHC $but had a credit for hours The credit (x 24) was subtracted from the balance$- $= $ This is the amount that VHC is seeking from Mrs [redacted] We know this is confusing, and our office has been working with Mrs [redacted] to provide supporting documentation and explain how we arrived at the end figurePlease advise if we can provide additional information

See longer explanation attached but in essence: [redacted] applied for the VHC Vet Assist Program in December with her home care to start in January with VHC agency [redacted] She was approved for hours of home care services per month through the agency [redacted] Golden Home provided hours of care to [redacted] in January VHC paid for the services provided pursuant to Ms***’ Loan Agreement with VHC and did not invoice Ms [redacted] until after her VA Aid and Attendance pension was approved by the VA The VA approved Ms [redacted] application and deposited $into her bank account on February 12, At this time, Ms [redacted] owed VHC $for home care services she received in JanuaryOn February 19, Ms [redacted] contacted VHC to cancel services because she would be movingVHC contacted the home care agency providing services and requested any outstanding invoices for careOn February 26, VHC used its ACH authorization to withdraw $from Ms***’ account – exactly what she owed for the home care services she received in January This is the one and only time VHC withdrew money form Ms [redacted] account pursuant to her ACH authorizationVHC has no knowledge of Ms [redacted] having an overdraft fee assessed to her account in JanuaryVHC withdrew no funds in JanuaryVHC is not using Ms [redacted] account to “launder money” VHC cannot “see” funds in Ms [redacted] accountVHC does not put any money into Ms [redacted] account and never has VHC charged Ms [redacted] for hours of care in January pursuant to the documentation received by the agency providing careIf this is incorrect, we ask her to forward the proper figuresVHC has not tried to process any additional ACH payments and has no knowledge of Ms [redacted] changing account numbersVHC has not asked Ms [redacted] for any more money because she does not owe VHC any additional funds VHC has only made the one withdrawal of $

Revdex.com: I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] , and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me Sincerely, [redacted]

Initial Business Response / [redacted] (1000, 5, 2015/12/09) */ Contact Name and Title: [redacted] Contact Phone: XXXXXXXXXX Contact Email: [redacted] @veteranshomecare.com First let me start by explaining the services of Veteran Home Care ("VHC"): VHC is a private, for profit company that assists veterans and their spouses in applying for VA Aid and Attendance pension benefits and arranges for home care to allow aging and disabled veterans and their spouses to remain in their homes (rather than nursing homes or other lifacilities)As described on the Department of Veteran Affairs website, The VA Aid and Attendance program provides an increase to monthly pensions for individuals who "require assistance in performing personal functions required in everyday living." Veterans Home Care is a private company not affiliated with the Department of Veterans Affairs ("VA")Typically a VHC representative assists a veteran or family member in completing an application for VHC services and in completing an application for the VA Aid & Attendance benefitsVHC then reviews the client's application for VHC services, if VHC approves an application; the client is eligible for VHC assistance and receives confirmation that he has been found eligible for VHC servicesIf the client elects to, the client completes a Loan Agreement and a Services Agreement indicating the hours per month of care that VHC has approved for that client and the amount that may be borrowed on a monthly basis to cover the costs of that careOne of VHC's preferred home care agencies receives a "start of care" notice and contacts the client to start servicesVHC also requests the necessary documentation and submits the client's application to the VA on the client's behalf for the Aid and Attendance benefits Once a client receives the VA benefits, VHC provides ongoing case management and continues to work with the client to ensure the client remains in compliance with the VA regulations to maintain the benefitsThe Aid and Attendance benefits provide qualified veterans and their surviving spouses with benefits to receive home care servicesHowever, the VA's Aid and Attendance benefit only works as a reimbursement to the veteran or spouse; it will not pay for the care directly or be provided to the veteran prior to the care being receivedVeterans only qualify for the benefit if their regularly occurring predictable total unreimbursed medical expenses are 105% of their Maximum Annual Pension Rate (MAPR) See U.S.C.S 501(a); C.F.R(g)As a consequence, many are caught in Catch-situations where they need the care and would qualify for the benefits but they can't afford to pay for the care upfront and therefore don't qualify and don't receive the care they need To assist these needy veterans and surviving spouses, Veterans Home Care offers no-interest loans to clients to enable these clients to pay for receive the home care they needIn the process, the client incurs the expense that qualifies the client for the Aid and Attendance benefitVHC limits the monthly loan amount to the monthly benefit anticipated to be awarded by the VAVHC arranges for the services, the client is able to pay the caregivers with funds advanced by VHC pursuant to the Loan AgreementVHC invoices the client for the funds advanced to pay for the careThe Client agrees to remit payment within ten days of the invoice date or at such time that Client receives retroactive VA reimbursement and monthly thereafter for any amounts due to VHC Now to address this client's specific complaints: "Veterans Home Care promised to help assist with the application process to receive a pension from my deceased spouse who was a World War II veteranThey also said they would (fee free) loan money to pay for home care until the pension startedThey are so helpful they sign you up for Direct deposit of your pension and give you a form to sign so they can withdraw their payment without bothering you every month." Response: This is all trueVHC offers its clients an interest-free loan to advance funds to pay for the needed home care and when clients receive the VA pension funds, the client uses the pension funds to repay the loan to VHCWith the client's authorization, the loan can be repaid via direct debit from the client's account "They are not home care providers, they contract the services out to local Home Care companiesThey billed me $an hour for hours a month which was the exact amount of my pension." Response: This is correctAs VHC explains at the outset, VHC acts as a case manager and works with different providers nationwide to provide care to its clientsMs [redacted] qualified for the full amount of the pension based on her medical expenses including hours of homecare " They pay contractors $or $an hour, so they build fees into the contractThey continue to bill whether _you use the hours or not, when I pointed this out -they said they were banking the hoursThat was new, it wasn't in the contractEach month I used hours or less but they want the full pension." Response: Yes, VHC is paid by the providers for its case management servicesFor the client to continue to qualify for the VA pension, the client must be able to show a predictable monthly expense as explained aboveVHC bills the client for the hours of care planned for the client to receiveBarring unusual circumstances, the services are delivered as plannedShould the provider later report that more or less hours were provided than planned, VHC makes adjustments "For the first four months, services were not delivered- then Veterans Home Care said that they fired the person who signed me up because of fraudIt is all Fraud." Response: VHC is not aware of the client not receiving services for the first four months and this is the first VHC has heard that the client is claiming that no services were provided from January - April The client enrolled to begin services in January VHC's records indicate the client began receiving care in January and VHC was invoiced by the provider for services beginning January In February, March and May, the client's daughter reported that the client was receiving the home care and the care provider was working out wellPrior to the client cancelling services, VHC loaned the client funds to pay for home care from January 1, through the first week of October anticipated it would be repaid as agreed once the client began to receive VA benefitsEven though the client is now receiving VA benefits, to date, VHC has only been repaid for one month of servicesVHC has honored its agreements

Revdex.com: I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] , and find that this resolution is satisfactory to meOnly if the refund is in the amount of $2,within business daysThen we will close this caseThanks Sincerely, [redacted]

I want the $returned, this company is misleading and a fraudPlease advise asap thank you

It took some time to process things on our end and work with the home care provider to confirm that no additional funds were due to the provider from VHC on behalf of the clientThe consumer should receive a refund in the next ten days

See longer explanation attached but in essence:[redacted] applied for the VHC Vet Assist Program in December 2015 with her home care to start in January 2016 with VHC agency [redacted] She was approved for 47 hours of home care services per month through the agency [redacted] Golden Home...

provided 47 hours of care to [redacted] in January 2016.  VHC paid for the services provided pursuant to Ms. [redacted]’ Loan Agreement with VHC and did not invoice Ms. [redacted] until after her VA Aid and Attendance pension was approved by the VA.  The VA approved Ms. [redacted] application and deposited $1149.00 into her bank account on February 12, 2106. At this time, Ms. [redacted] owed VHC $1146.80 for home care services she received in January. On February 19, 2016 Ms. [redacted] contacted VHC to cancel services because she would be moving. VHC contacted the home care agency providing services and requested any outstanding invoices for care. On February 26, 2016 VHC used its ACH authorization to withdraw $1146.80 from Ms. [redacted]’ account – exactly what she owed for the home care services she received in January.  This is the one and only time VHC withdrew money form Ms. [redacted] account pursuant to her ACH authorization. VHC has no knowledge of Ms. [redacted] having an overdraft fee assessed to her account in January. VHC withdrew no funds in January. VHC is not using Ms. [redacted] account to “launder money”.  VHC cannot “see” funds in Ms. [redacted] account. VHC does not put any money into Ms. [redacted] account and never has.  VHC charged Ms. [redacted] for 47 hours of care in January pursuant to the documentation received by the agency providing care. If this is incorrect, we ask her to forward the proper figures. VHC has not tried to process any additional ACH payments and has no knowledge of Ms. [redacted] changing account numbers. VHC has not asked Ms. [redacted] for any more money because she does not owe VHC any additional funds.  VHC has only made the one withdrawal of $1146.80.

We have spoken with Mrs. [redacted].  Under her Services Contract and Loan Agreement with VHC, starting in May 2014, Mrs. [redacted] arranged to receive a specified number of hours of home care per month (47) at an agreed upon hourly rate ($24 per hour).  VHC offered her a no interest loan to...

cover the costs of the homecare.  Mrs. [redacted] agreed to repay the loan once she started to receive VA benefits that would cover the homecare. She agreed to make loan payments each month via an ACH withdrawal from her bank account.  The VA benefit is a reimbursement benefit that reimburses the recipient after that recipient has paid for the care.  Therefore, the loan continues on a monthly basis so that Mrs. [redacted] is never out of pocket the money to pay for the care.   Mrs. [redacted] used the funds to pay the care providers for their time and for their mileage. Our records show that by the start of 2016 she had accumulated 53.25 unused hours of home care. (In essence VHC had loaned her the funds to pay for 53.25 hours of care more than she received and she had repaid the loan for this amount.)  To address this accrual, VHC arranged with Mrs. [redacted] that she would not be loaned any funds and therefore not invoiced for loan payments until she used all of her accumulated hours.  As a result, she was not loaned funds for January 2016 and therefore she would not receive a loan payment invoice in February 2016. In January 2016 she used 28.97 hours of homecare leaving her a balance of 24.38 accumulated homecare hours.  In February used 30.15 hours- more than she had remaining and therefore VHC reinstituted her regular contract, she was loaned funds for the number of hours of care specified in the contract (47). VHC attempted to take an ACH payment in March to cover the February loan obligation. Mrs. [redacted] was credited for the 47 hours the loaned funds provided, which resulted in a credit of 41.13 accumulated hours. The February payment bounced and remained unpaid. Pursuant to the contract, she was loaned money in March for 47 hours (and credited those hours) but only used 3.15 hours, cancelling the services effective March 3, 2016.  At the time she cancelled Mrs. [redacted] owed VHC $2256.00 but had a credit for 84.98 hours.   The credit (84.98 x 24) was subtracted from the balance. $2256.00 - $2039.52 = $216.48.  This is the amount that VHC is seeking from Mrs. [redacted]. We know this is confusing, and our office has been working with Mrs. [redacted] to provide supporting documentation and explain how we arrived at the end figure. Please advise if we can provide additional information.

The business sent the consumer a check in the mail. Consumer stated this has satisfied his complaint.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. Only if the refund is in the amount of  $2,116.70 within 10 business days. Then we will close this case. Thanks
Sincerely,
[redacted]

We are looking into this complaint. The complaint itself is difficult to follow in its redacted form. We hope to have our review completed next week.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/12/09) */
Contact Name and Title: [redacted]
Contact Phone: XXXXXXXXXX
Contact Email: [redacted]@veteranshomecare.com
First let me start by explaining the services of Veteran Home Care ("VHC"):
VHC is a private, for profit company that assists...

veterans and their spouses in applying for VA Aid and Attendance pension benefits and arranges for home care to allow aging and disabled veterans and their spouses to remain in their homes (rather than nursing homes or other live-in facilities). As described on the Department of Veteran Affairs website, The VA Aid and Attendance program provides an increase to monthly pensions for individuals who "require assistance in performing personal functions required in everyday living."
Veterans Home Care is a private company not affiliated with the Department of Veterans Affairs ("VA"). Typically a VHC representative assists a veteran or family member in completing an application for VHC services and in completing an application for the VA Aid & Attendance benefits. VHC then reviews the client's application for VHC services, if VHC approves an application; the client is eligible for VHC assistance and receives confirmation that he has been found eligible for VHC services. If the client elects to, the client completes a Loan Agreement and a Services Agreement indicating the hours per month of care that VHC has approved for that client and the amount that may be borrowed on a monthly basis to cover the costs of that care. One of VHC's preferred home care agencies receives a "start of care" notice and contacts the client to start services. VHC also requests the necessary documentation and submits the client's application to the VA on the client's behalf for the Aid and Attendance benefits.
Once a client receives the VA benefits, VHC provides ongoing case management and continues to work with the client to ensure the client remains in compliance with the VA regulations to maintain the benefits. The Aid and Attendance benefits provide qualified veterans and their surviving spouses with benefits to receive home care services. However, the VA's Aid and Attendance benefit only works as a reimbursement to the veteran or spouse; it will not pay for the care directly or be provided to the veteran prior to the care being received. Veterans only qualify for the benefit if their regularly occurring predictable total unreimbursed medical expenses are 105% of their Maximum Annual Pension Rate (MAPR) See 38 U.S.C.S 501(a); 38 C.F.R. 3.272 (g). As a consequence, many are caught in Catch-22 situations where they need the care and would qualify for the benefits but they can't afford to pay for the care upfront and therefore don't qualify and don't receive the care they need.
To assist these needy veterans and surviving spouses, Veterans Home Care offers no-interest loans to clients to enable these clients to pay for receive the home care they need. In the process, the client incurs the expense that qualifies the client for the Aid and Attendance benefit. VHC limits the monthly loan amount to the monthly benefit anticipated to be awarded by the VA. VHC arranges for the services, the client is able to pay the caregivers with funds advanced by VHC pursuant to the Loan Agreement. VHC invoices the client for the funds advanced to pay for the care. The Client agrees to remit payment within ten days of the invoice date or at such time that Client receives retroactive VA reimbursement and monthly thereafter for any amounts due to VHC.
Now to address this client's specific complaints:
"Veterans Home Care promised to help assist with the application process to receive a pension from my deceased spouse who was a World War II veteran. They also said they would (fee free) loan money to pay for home care until the pension started. They are so helpful they sign you up for Direct deposit of your pension and give you a form to sign so they can withdraw their payment without bothering you every month."
Response: This is all true. VHC offers its clients an interest-free loan to advance funds to pay for the needed home care and when clients receive the VA pension funds, the client uses the pension funds to repay the loan to VHC. With the client's authorization, the loan can be repaid via direct debit from the client's account.
"They are not home care providers, they contract the services out to local Home Care companies. They billed me $24.60 an hour for 47 hours a month which was the exact amount of my pension."

Response: This is correct. As VHC explains at the outset, VHC acts as a case manager and works with different providers nationwide to provide care to its clients. Ms. [redacted] qualified for the full amount of the pension based on her medical expenses including 47 hours of homecare.
" They pay contractors $17 or $18 an hour, so they build fees into the contract. They continue to bill whether _you use the hours or not, when I pointed this out -they said they were banking the hours. That was new, it wasn't in the contract. Each month I used 40 hours or less but they want the full pension."
Response: Yes, VHC is paid by the providers for its case management services. For the client to continue to qualify for the VA pension, the client must be able to show a predictable monthly expense as explained above. VHC bills the client for the hours of care planned for the client to receive. Barring unusual circumstances, the services are delivered as planned. Should the provider later report that more or less hours were provided than planned, VHC makes adjustments.
"For the first four months, services were not delivered- then Veterans Home Care said that they fired the person who signed me up because of fraud. It is all Fraud."
Response: VHC is not aware of the client not receiving services for the first four months and this is the first VHC has heard that the client is claiming that no services were provided from January - April 2015. The client enrolled to begin services in January 2015. VHC's records indicate the client began receiving care in January and VHC was invoiced by the provider for services beginning January 2015. In February, March and May, the client's daughter reported that the client was receiving the home care and the care provider was working out well. Prior to the client cancelling services, VHC loaned the client funds to pay for home care from January 1, 2015 through the first week of October 2015 anticipated it would be repaid as agreed once the client began to receive VA benefits. Even though the client is now receiving VA benefits, to date, VHC has only been repaid for one month of services. VHC has honored its agreements.

We have spoken with our client and her son.  As we explained to them, this matter is under investigation. Under the Services Contract and Loan Agreement with VHC, our client arranged to receive a specified number of hours of home care per month (47) at an agreed upon hourly rate through one of...

our subcontracting agencies starting in February 2015. When she moved at the end of May 2015, we were advised that the agency was continuing care at her new location.  The family first advised us in October that the agency was not providing the care that it was reporting and invoicing to us. Initially the family indicated it wanted to move forward with the home care, we were working to restart the care when the the family instead decided to cancel services.  We are now working with the home care provider to reconcile the hours of care actually provided with the hours invoiced and once our reconciliation is complete we will be refunding this client and balance due to her.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
Sincerely,
[redacted]