VA benefits for senior care in Delaware cover home care, nursing homes, and a pension with Aid and Attendance worth up to $29,093 a year for a veteran with no dependents. If your loved one served, the challenge usually isn't eligibility. It is knowing what to ask for.

This guide covers every VA program that helps pay for or provide senior care, how to access them in Delaware, and what happens when VA care isn't enough on its own.

In This Guide

What VA Long-Term Care Programs Are Available in Delaware?

The VA offers multiple long-term care programs. Access isn't automatic once a veteran is enrolled: VA also has to conclude the veteran needs that specific service for their ongoing treatment and personal care, and the service, or a space in the care setting, has to be available near them. The VA may also consider other factors, like the veteran's service-connected disability status or insurance coverage.

Home Based Primary Care (HBPC)

A VA doctor-led health care team provides services such as nursing care, physical therapy, and help with daily tasks in the veteran's home.

This isn't the same as the home health care Medicare pays for. The Medicare home health benefit covers skilled care under Medicare's own rules. HBPC is different. It is primary care delivered at home, with a VA doctor leading the whole team.

Adult Day Health Care

Veterans attend a structured daytime program that provides social activities, companionship, recreation, care, and support. It also gives family caregivers reliable daytime respite. Programs may be at VA facilities or contracted community adult day centers.

Community Living Centers (VA Nursing Homes)

Community Living Centers are VA nursing centers designed to feel like home, providing nursing-home-level care. A short stay in a CLC is also one of the ways the VA delivers Nursing Home Respite Care.

Ask your VA medical center's social work department which CLCs serve your area, what each one offers, and whether a bed is available.

Community Nursing Home Program

The VA contracts with community (non-VA) nursing homes so veterans can get nursing home care near home. Whether VA benefits help pay for nursing home care depends on the veteran's income and the level of their service-connected disability, and on the extended care copay rules: there is no copay for geriatric or extended care for the first 21 days of care in a 12-month period, and starting on the 22nd day the VA bases the copay on the level of care being received and the financial information the veteran provides on the Application for Extended Care Services (VA Form 10-10EC). Some veterans do not have to pay copays at all: they are exempt because of their disability rating, income level, or special eligibility factors. Confirm the copay that will apply before assuming the cost is covered.

Respite Care

Respite care gives a family caregiver a temporary break. All enrolled veterans are eligible for VA Respite Care if they meet the clinical criteria for the service and it is available. Two more conditions come with that. If a community agency, an adult day health care center or a nursing home provides the respite, the veteran also has to meet community care eligibility. And respite isn't necessarily free: VA may charge a copay based on the veteran's service-connected disability status and financial information. Respite can be at home (a substitute caregiver comes in, or the veteran attends adult day health care) or a short stay in a VA Community Living Center or a community nursing home.

Two 30-day figures are easily confused. VA's 2026 copay page describes both overnight respite care and daily respite care as available up to 30 days each calendar year. Separately, under the VA Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers (PCAFC), an eligible Primary Family Caregiver receives at least 30 days of respite care per year; that is a PCAFC entitlement, not one every enrolled veteran's caregiver has. To apply, learn more or find the copay, contact the veteran's VA social worker or case manager to complete VA Form 10-10EC.

Not sure which VA program fits your family's situation? Chat with Brevy to get a personalized recommendation.

Delaware State Veterans Homes

Delaware operates one State Veterans Home, the Delaware Veterans Home in Milford (100 Delaware Veterans Blvd., Milford, DE 19963; main number (302) 424-6000), established in 2007 on 24 acres. It is a long-term care facility that offers skilled nursing care on four units, with a total of 144 beds.

To be considered for residency, an applicant must have been honorably discharged from active service, peacetime or wartime, with at least 180 days of service; or be a National Guard member with at least 180 days of active service overseas; or a Reservist with at least 180 days of active service; or any National Guard or Reserve member eligible for retirement pay at age 60; or a Gold Star family member. The applicant must also have resided in Delaware for at least one year before applying and have a medically determined need for a long-term level of care. Those are the Home's own requirements, and its admissions page offers two application forms: one for long-term care and one for short-term and rehab care. The National Association of State Veterans Homes' Delaware entry states them differently: at least three years of Delaware residence before applying, no minimum days for regular active service, and Guard or Reserve days that need not be consecutive. If your veteran falls in that gap, call the DVH Admissions Coordinator at (302) 424-8572 before ruling the Home out. A denial can be appealed in writing to the Delaware Commission of Veterans Affairs.

One home, one waitlist. With 144 beds, in a state where VA's National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics projects 60,931 veterans for fiscal year 2026, the Delaware Veterans Home can have a wait for admission. Don't let that stall a family that needs care now: the VA's home-based and community nursing home programs above can bridge the gap. Ask the Home about current wait times when you apply.

Does Your Veteran Qualify for Aid and Attendance?

The Aid and Attendance pension is a monthly cash benefit for veterans (or surviving spouses) who need help with daily activities.

2026 Rates

Who Maximum Per Year
Veteran, no dependents Up to $29,093
Veteran with one dependent Up to $34,488
Surviving spouse, no dependents Up to $18,697

The VA publishes these maximums as annual amounts, effective December 1, 2025 through November 30, 2026. Each is a ceiling, not a payment: a claimant with countable income receives the maximum less that income. Pension is paid monthly, and VA's regulation computes the monthly rate by subtracting countable income from the annual maximum, dividing by 12 and rounding down to the whole dollar.

Who Qualifies

To be eligible, the veteran must have:

  • Met the wartime service requirement. The VA lists three service paths, keyed to when active duty began: active duty starting before September 8, 1980 requires at least 90 days of active duty with at least one day during a wartime period; enlisted active duty starting after September 7, 1980 requires at least 24 months (with some exceptions), or the full period for which the veteran was called or ordered to active duty, with at least one day during wartime; and a veteran who started on active duty as an officer after October 16, 1981 qualifies if they had not previously served on active duty for at least 24 months
  • Not have received a dishonorable discharge
  • Meet at least one of four tests: be at least 65 years old; have a permanent and total disability; be a patient in a nursing home for long-term care because of a disability; or be receiving Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income
  • Need aid and attendance: regular help from another person with activities like dressing, bathing, feeding, or attending to the wants of nature, or regular care to protect against hazards in daily surroundings; or have to stay in bed, or spend a large portion of the day in bed, because of illness; or be a patient in a nursing home because of a loss of mental or physical abilities related to a disability; or have eyesight of 5/200 or less in both eyes, or a visual field contracted to 5 degrees or less
  • Have a net worth below $163,699. The VA's net worth calculation combines the claimant's and their dependents' assets and annual income; the primary home, a vehicle, and basic home items like appliances are excluded,

The VA enforces a 3-year look-back period on asset transfers.

How to Apply

The steps below are the pension route to Aid and Attendance, the one the VA describes with the condition "You may be eligible for this benefit if you get a VA pension." Apply using VA Form 21-2680 (Examination for Housebound Status or Permanent Need for Regular Aid and Attendance), whose examination information section a medical examiner must fill out. Form 21-2680 also covers Aid and Attendance that will be added to monthly compensation, so a veteran already receiving VA disability compensation rather than a pension is not shut out. A wartime veteran pursuing the pension route who is not already receiving a VA pension files Form 21P-527EZ (Application for Veterans Pension) as well. You can file online at VA.gov, by mail to the VA Pension Intake Center, or in person at a VA regional office. Asked how long a decision takes, the VA's answer is "It depends." It works claims in the order it receives them, unless a claim requires priority processing.

You don't have to wait for a decision before arranging care. Many families arrange the care their loved one needs now and file the claim at the same time.

Don't do this alone. The Delaware Office of Veterans Services has VA-accredited Veteran Service Officers who assist with applying for federal and state benefits, including compensation and pension. The office states that an accredited Veteran Service Organization representative will never charge for claims services, but VA adds that an accredited attorney or claims agent can charge fees, so check which kind of representative you have before you sign anything. If a claim is denied, go back to a Veteran Service Officer before you give up on it.

For the full application walkthrough, see our VA Aid and Attendance guide.

Veteran-Directed Care

The Veteran-Directed Care (VDC) program gives veterans a flexible budget, managed by the veteran or their representative, to hire and supervise their own workers so they can keep living at home or in their community. VA medical centers deliver VDC through aging and disability network agencies, such as aging and disability resource centers, area agencies on aging, centers for independent living, and state units on aging. Through an options counselor, the agency assesses the veteran's needs, helps plan the care and services, arranges fiscal management services, and provides ongoing counseling and support.

Veterans may hire family, friends, and neighbors to provide services. Whether a particular relative can be paid under a particular program is worth confirming before you count on it, so ask an accredited Veteran Service Officer or your VA social worker about your own situation. All enrolled veterans are eligible for VDC if they are eligible for community care, meet the clinical criteria for the service, and it is available.

VDC isn't offered at every VA medical center, so confirm availability before you count on it. Contact the social work department at your VA medical center to ask whether VDC is available in your area and how to enroll.

Community Care Through the MISSION Act

The MISSION Act (2018) expanded when veterans can receive care from community (non-VA) providers. Two requirements always apply: the veteran has to be enrolled in or eligible for VA health care, and has to get approval from their VA health care team before seeing a community provider, except in cases like urgent or emergency care. Beyond that, at least one of six conditions has to be true. Among them:

  • The VA can't offer an appointment within 20 days (primary care/mental health) or 28 days (specialty care)
  • The drive to a VA facility exceeds 30 minutes (primary care, mental health, and extended outpatient care) or 60 minutes (specialty care)
  • The care you need isn't provided at any VA health facility
  • You and your VA provider agree community care is in your best medical interest
  • VA can't provide the service in a way that meets its quality standards

Those four numbers are a test VA applies, not a promise it makes. The regulation uses them for eligibility determinations, and failing either the drive-time or the wait-time standard on its own is enough. They can make a veteran eligible for community care; they do not entitle anyone to a VA appointment by day 20.

The regulation adds three limits VA's public eligibility page leaves out. You must first have "contacted an authorized VA official to request the care," so there is no self-referral on drive time alone. The drive time is an "average driving time" from the veteran's residence that VA calculates with geographic information system software, not your own odometer. And agreeing to a later appointment date with your VA provider gives up the wait-time route. If VA decides you do not qualify, that decision is reviewable through VA's clinical appeals process, not the Board of Veterans' Appeals.

In 2025, the Senator Elizabeth Dole Act removed a second-review step on the "best medical interest" pathway, making it faster for eligible veterans to access community care.

How VA Benefits Work with Medicare and Medicaid

VA benefits don't replace Medicare or Medicaid, nothing requires a veteran to enroll in Medicare to keep VA health care, and an older veteran or surviving spouse can qualify for and receive VA pension and Medicaid at the same time., But VA and Medicare generally can't pay for the same items or services: each time you get care you choose which benefit to use, VA doesn't bill Medicare, and holding VA health care is no shield against the Medicare Part B late-enrollment penalty, which grows each year you delay and lasts for the rest of your life.

  • VA + Medicare: Holding both is normal. Medicare pays for Medicare-covered items and services, while VA pays for VA-authorized items or services in a VA or non-VA facility. "Generally" matters here: if VA authorizes a stay at a non-VA hospital but not every service you get during it, Medicare may pay for the Medicare-covered services VA didn't authorize.
  • VA + Medicaid: Delaware's long-term care Medicaid rules (Title 16 of the state Administrative Code, 20000 Medicaid Long Term Care) treat a basic VA pension as unearned income, but they handle the Aid and Attendance and Housebound allowances differently. Those allowances, the chapter says, "do not meet the definition of income because they are assistance for medical and social services," and "The payments are not included in the post eligibility calculation." So under Delaware's chapter, the Aid and Attendance money counts neither toward eligibility nor toward a resident's share of the cost of care. Other countable income still goes into the cost-of-care calculation. The chapter adds that Aid and Attendance payments "may be used for whatever purpose the veteran wishes without penalty," and the veteran may make it available to the community spouse. Separately, the chapter records a federal limit: a veteran or surviving spouse with no children in a Medicaid nursing facility has the VA Improved Pension capped at $90 a month, and that $90 is not counted as income in the eligibility or post-eligibility process. It adds that the reduced pension does not interact with the personal needs allowance. Before budgeting around that $90, check the facility: the statute behind it, 38 U.S.C. 5503(d), excludes a State home VA pays per diem for from its definition of a nursing facility, and VA's regulation (38 CFR 3.551(i)) doesn't repeat that definition, so check a Medicaid-covered Delaware Veterans Home stay against the statute rather than assume the $90 rule applies. Such a State home has its own federal Medicaid rule, 42 U.S.C. 1396a(r)(1)(B): for a veteran with no spouse or child, or a surviving spouse with no child, who gets more than $90 a month in pension after qualifying for Medicaid, the pension above $90, including Aid and Attendance, counts as income only toward the home's cost of nursing home care. Confirm with Delaware Medicaid how that rule and Delaware's own rule apply together to a Delaware Veterans Home stay.,
  • The Delaware Veterans Home: if a stay there is on the table, ask the DVH Admissions Coordinator at (302) 424-8572 which payment sources the Home accepts and how they combine for your veteran.

Income rules change, so confirm a veteran's situation with Delaware Medicaid and a VA-accredited Veteran Service Officer.

How to Access VA Senior Care Benefits in Delaware

1
Step 1

Confirm VA health care enrollment

If the veteran isn't already enrolled in VA health care, apply at va.gov/health-care/how-to-apply. Once the veteran is enrolled, VA assigns 1 of 8 priority groups based on military service history, disability rating, income level, whether the veteran qualifies for Medicaid, and other benefits the veteran may be receiving, like VA pension.

2
Step 2

Get free help

The Delaware Office of Veterans Services' Veteran Service Officers are State of Delaware employees specially trained and accredited by the VA. They help with compensation and pension, health care, burial and survivor benefits, housing, military records and more. To schedule an appointment with your county service officer, use the office's contact page or call (302) 739-2792; the office is at 802 Silver Lake Blvd., Robbins Building, Suite 100, in Dover.

3
Step 3

Gather records

You'll need the veteran's DD-214 (discharge papers), medical records documenting the need for care, and financial information. If you can't find the DD-214, the National Personnel Records Center can provide copies (request through va.gov).

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you have to be service-connected disabled to get VA long-term care?

Not for all programs. A veteran with a compensable service-connected disability owes no extended care copay, but VA's long-term care services are open to any enrolled veteran VA finds needs a service that is available nearby. Aid and Attendance doesn't require a service-connected disability at all. It requires wartime service, no dishonorable discharge, a need for aid and attendance as the VA defines it, yearly family income and net worth within the limits Congress sets, and that the veteran meet at least one of the VA's four tests: 65 or older, a permanent and total disability, a patient in a nursing home for long-term care because of a disability, or receiving SSDI or SSI.

Can a veteran's spouse live in the Delaware Veterans Home?

The two published sources answer this differently. The Home's own minimum-requirements list names only veterans, Guard or Reserve members, and Gold Star family members. The National Association of State Veterans Homes' Delaware directory entry says spouses of veterans applying for residency are eligible for admission while their veteran spouse is a resident of the Home, subject to space availability. Ask the DVH Admissions Coordinator at (302) 424-8572 how the Home applies that today.

How long does it take to get Aid and Attendance approved?

The VA's own answer is "It depends." It works claims in the order it receives them, unless a claim requires priority processing. Working with a Delaware Veteran Service Officer can reduce the chance of errors that cause delays. You can apply while your loved one is already receiving care.

Does the VA pay for assisted living?

Aid and Attendance is an increased monthly VA pension paid to the veteran, so that money can go toward an assisted living bill. VA itself doesn't pay for the placement. It lists assisted living facilities among its community residential (live-in) care settings, which it says are not run, staffed, or paid for by VA, though VA inspects and approves each one, and VA benefits may help pay for extra services there, such as visits from a VA provider. The VA's own long-term care programs are home-based primary care, adult day health care, Community Living Centers, community nursing homes, respite care, and Veteran-Directed Care; Veteran-Directed Care is built around helping a veteran live at home or in their community., Delaware's own State Veterans Home in Milford is a long-term care facility offering skilled nursing care. If assisted living is what your family is weighing, ask a Delaware Veteran Service Officer which of these fits and how Aid and Attendance would apply.

Next Steps

If you're caring for a veteran who needs help, start by calling the Delaware Office of Veterans Services at (302) 739-2792. They can assess which benefits apply and help you file at no cost.

Learn More

VA BenefitsVA benefits for senior care nationwideA complete guide to VA benefits for senior care: long-term care, Aid and Attendance, pensions, DIC, and home grants for older veterans and surviving spouses. VA BenefitsVA Aid and Attendance in DelawareVA Aid and Attendance in Delaware for 2026: who qualifies, up to $34,488 a year for a veteran with a spouse, how to apply, and free filing help in Delaware. Care TypesHome Care vs Home Health in DelawareHome care vs. home health in Delaware: home health is skilled care Medicare covers; home care is non-medical help it won't. That line decides who pays. Care TypesNursing Homes in DelawareNursing homes in Delaware in 2026: a private room runs about $181,588/year, well above the national median. What it costs, who pays, and how to vet a facility. Care TypesCost of Senior Care in DelawareCost of senior care in Delaware (2026): assisted living about $90,600 to $91,200 a year, a private nursing-home room about $181,588 a year, plus how to pay. Care TypesAssisted Living vs Nursing Homes in DelawareAssisted living vs. a nursing home in Delaware: the care-level line, the cost gap, and who pays. Medicaid covers nursing homes, only some assisted-living costs. VA BenefitsDelaware Disabled Veteran Property Tax CreditDelaware's disabled veteran property tax exemption is a school tax credit for 100% disabled veterans. Who qualifies, county relief, spouses, and how to apply.
Your next step Find personalized help navigating VA senior care benefits in Delaware at brevy.com.

The information on Brevy.com is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional legal, financial, or medical advice. Rules vary by state and program and change frequently. Always verify with the relevant agency or a qualified professional. Brevy is not a law firm, financial advisor, or healthcare provider.

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