Care as you age: VA long-term care, State Veterans Homes and help at home

Where to start

Most VA long-term care starts with your VA health care team. Ask for a VA social worker. They check what you may qualify for, what's offered near you, and what it costs.

You need to be signed up for VA health care for most of these programs. Then VA looks at your health needs and what's available where you live.

Help at home

These programs help you stay in your own home. Each one depends on your health needs and what your local VA offers.

• Home Based Primary Care: a VA team (doctor or nurse practitioner, nurse, social worker, therapist and more) comes to your home if you have ongoing illnesses. You don't have to be homebound.
• Homemaker and home health aide: a trained aide helps with bathing, dressing, meals and other daily tasks, with a nurse supervising.
• Skilled home health care: short-term nursing or therapy at home from an agency VA works with.
• Veteran-Directed Care: VA gives you a budget to hire your own helpers, including family members.
• Home telehealth: your care team keeps an eye on your health by phone, video and home equipment.

Adult day health care and respite for caregivers

Adult day health care is a daytime program with activities, company and health care. It can give a caregiver a few hours or days to work or rest.

Respite care pays for someone to care for the Veteran at home, or for a short stay in a VA Community Living Center or another program, so the family caregiver can take a break.

• Caregivers: see our caregiver page for the VA caregiver programs, the Caregiver Support Line (855-260-3274) and more.

Nursing homes and places to live

VA Community Living Centers are VA nursing homes. Most stays are short (rehab after a hospital stay), and some are longer.

Community nursing homes are private nursing homes that VA contracts with. VA pays only if you meet its rules, which depend on your service-connected disabilities, your health needs and your income. A VA social worker can tell you if you qualify.

Medical foster homes are private homes where a trained caregiver looks after a few people. VA inspects and approves them. VA does not pay the rent at medical foster homes or assisted living, but VA pension with Aid & Attendance can help pay for them.

State Veterans Homes

Every state has at least one State Veterans Home. States own and run them, and each state sets who can get in. They offer nursing home care, and some offer domiciliary (assisted living style) care or adult day care. VA inspects them every year and helps pay for Veterans' care.

Some homes also take spouses and Gold Star parents. Many have waiting lists, so call early. Use the finder below to see the homes in your state.

Hospice and comfort care

Palliative care helps with pain and other symptoms at any stage of a serious illness. Hospice is comfort care for someone with less than 6 months to live who is no longer seeking a cure. VA provides both, at home, in a VA Community Living Center, or in the community.

What long-term care costs (2026)

Your first 21 days of VA long-term care in any 12 months have no copay. After that, the copay depends on the type of care, your service-connected disabilities and your income. Some Veterans pay nothing.

• VA nursing home care (Community Living Center), overnight respite: up to $97 a day.
• Adult day health care, daytime respite: up to $15 a day.
• Domiciliary care: up to $5 a day.
• Ask your VA social worker to help you fill out VA Form 10-10EC (Application for Extended Care Services). It sets your copay.

Medicare and VA: keep Part B

VA encourages Veterans to sign up for Medicare when they can, even if they use VA health care. VA can't bill Medicare, and Medicare lets you use non-VA hospitals and doctors.

If you skip Medicare Part B when you're first eligible and sign up later, you pay a penalty that grows each year you waited and lasts for life. Your Part B premium also counts as a medical cost for VA pension.

Money to help pay for care

If you served in wartime and have limited income, VA pension with Aid & Attendance can help pay for home care, assisted living or a nursing home. Care costs can lower your countable income, so many Veterans qualify once they start paying for care. See our pension guide.