Veteran-Directed Care has, historically, been an underutilized program with fewer than 15,000 Veterans in the United States currently receiving benefits. The Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Act of 2025 put forward a challenge to change that. In it is a mandate that “each medical center of the Department of Veterans Affairs” administer a Veteran-Directed Care program by September 2027. This legislation recognizes two powerful values of the Veteran-Directed Care program:
- Support Veterans to continue to live, and receive the support that they need, in their home
- Empower Veterans to choose their own workers and manage the care that they receive
A key supporter of Veteran-Directed Care is the financial management services (FMS) provider. As the Administration for Community Living (ACL) guidance says, “The FMS function is crucial to providing the Veteran with support to manage their employer tasks…” With many new Aging and Disability Network Agencies (ADNAs) partnering with the VA to provide Veteran-Directed Care, the VA has introduced a mandate, effective as of October 2025, which requires that “new VDC providers (Hubs or Sole Proprietors) subcontract with a qualified FMS agency for a minimum of two years.”
As BeneLynk develops our Veterans Choose FMS product, we are pleased to see the recognition of the crucial role the FMS provider can play in serving Veterans. Throughout our history, we have helped people learn about benefits that can help them to lead healthier and happier lives. We know that Veteran-Directed Care is just this sort of program. We’re building Veterans Choose to help to strengthen and expand this value:
- Help to ensure more Veterans know about these life-changing benefits
- Develop technology that simplifies the administration in an intuitive and user-centered fashion
- Provide the human connection — often provided by advocates who are Veterans or members of military families themselves
As the leader of this new service, I am working to build on BeneLynk’s intuitive technology and national reach to build a new kind of FMS for Veteran-Directed Care. I see an opportunity for all stakeholders in the process — from the VA, to the ACL, to the ADNA, and the Veteran and direct-care workers themselves — to get the information and support they need. That is what we are building. We believe deeply in the value of this benefit, supporting Veterans to live at home and empowering those Veterans to control their own services. We’re building Veterans Choose to help more people access these benefits and to make the process as seamless as possible.
If you are an ADNA and want to learn more about how Veterans Choose can help you, please reach out today. You can email me at Kelsey.Kostohryz@BeneLynk.com
About the Author: Kelsey Kostohryz is the Vice President, FMS for BeneLynk’s new Veterans Choose product. She brings over two decades of experience in human services, with a focus on self-directed services. Kelsey has a deep belief in empowering people to manage the care they need in the manner that they choose. At BeneLynk, Kelsey is helping to build a new kind of FMS for Veteran-Directed Care — one grounded in intuitive technology and human advocacy — to help more Veterans access the benefits they've earned.