A veteran who needs nursing home care and has a service-connected disability rated 70% or more or a TDIU rating may owe a Hawaii State Veterans Home nothing for that care. VA's payment-in-full rule in 38 CFR 51.41 also covers a veteran who needs nursing home care for a service-connected disability. Under 38 CFR 51.41, VA's payment for a covered veteran's nursing home care is payment in full when VA pays the Hawaii State Veterans Home under a contract or a State home care agreement. Under a State home care agreement with VA, the Hawaii State Veterans Home also may not charge a covered veteran's family for the nursing home care VA pays for. Before admission, ask the Hilo or Kapolei home whether it has a contract or State home care agreement with VA. For every other resident of the state's veterans homes in Hilo and Kapolei, the harder news is that the State of Hawaiʻi Office of Veterans' Services (OVS) publishes no charge or payment route for either home, so the price has to come from the home itself.

In This Guide

Hawaii's Veterans Homes and the Federal Program Behind Them

If you're weighing a veterans home for a parent, it helps to know who actually runs it. Under the federal VA State Veterans Homes program, state governments own, operate and manage State Veterans Homes; VA formally recognizes and certifies each home and surveys it every year against VA standards, but VA doesn't manage the homes, and each state sets its own eligibility and admission rules. In Hawaii, the Office of Veterans' Services calls itself the principal state office responsible for policies and programs related to veterans, and it can be reached at (808) 433-0420. For how the program works across the country, see our national guide to State Veterans Homes.

Hilo or Kapolei: What Each Home Offers

For most families the first question is geography, because Hawaii's two veterans homes sit on different islands.

Home Island and city Size Care the sources describe
Yukio Okutsu State Veterans Home Hawaiʻi Island, Hilo Not stated on OVS's page Short-term rehabilitation, residential long-term placement, 24-hour skilled nursing; also hospice, dementia, adult day and respite care per MyArmyBenefits
Daniel K. Akaka State Veterans Home Oʻahu, Kapolei 120 beds on seven acres 24-hour professional nursing care; physical, occupational and speech therapy

OVS describes the Yukio Okutsu State Veterans Home in Hilo as a post-acute care and rehabilitation provider for veterans, with short-term rehabilitation services, residential long-term placement and 24-hour skilled nursing care from licensed clinical specialists and therapists. MyArmyBenefits lists the Hilo home's services as skilled nursing care, rehabilitation therapies, long term care, hospice care, geriatric mental health care, Alzheimer's care, dementia care, adult day care and respite care. A VA Pacific Islands Health Care System story dated March 28, 2025 says the State of Hawaii opened the Yukio Okutsu State Veterans Home in Hilo in 2007.

The Daniel K. Akaka State Veterans Home in Kapolei is the newer of the two homes. OVS calls it the largest post-acute care and rehabilitation facility in Hawaiʻi, a 120-bed home on a seven-acre property in Kapolei. The same VA story reports that VA Pacific Islands leadership attended the Kapolei home's opening on March 26, 2025, at 91-1204 Kealanani Ave. OVS's May 2026 newsletter lists the Kapolei home's services as 24-hour professional nursing care; rehabilitation services, including physical, occupational and speech therapy; activities and social programs; and meals prepared daily.

Can Your Parent Get Into a Hawaii State Veterans Home?

This is where Hawaii's two homes differ most, and where families most often get mixed signals. The two homes don't publish their admission rules in the same place, so take each one on its own terms.

The Yukio Okutsu home in Hilo

For the Hilo home only, MyArmyBenefits says a veteran must meet all of these requirements to be eligible for care at the Yukio Okutsu State Veterans Home:

  • require skilled or long-term nursing home care;
  • be at least 55 years old, though admission under 55 may be considered case by case;
  • have received an honorable discharge;
  • have been a Hawaii resident before entering the U.S. Armed Forces, or for one year before applying;
  • be able to pay the resident's portion of the cost of care.

MyArmyBenefits adds that spouses, surviving spouses and Gold Star Parents may be admitted to the Hilo home on a space-available basis.

The Daniel K. Akaka home in Kapolei

MyArmyBenefits covers only the Hilo home, so none of those Hilo rules is published for the Kapolei home. The eligibility statement OVS has published for the Kapolei home is in an item in OVS's May 2026 newsletter, which says veterans who served on active duty for at least one day may qualify for residency at the Daniel K. Akaka State Veterans Home. "May qualify" isn't a promise, so ask the Kapolei home's admissions office for its full criteria, including any residency, discharge or spouse rules, before you plan around them.

Nationally, VA says admission to a State Veterans Home turns on clinical need and on whether a bed in the right setting is available.

What Will a Hawaii State Veterans Home Cost the Family?

Not knowing the price is one of the hardest parts of this decision, and Hawaii doesn't make it easier. Neither OVS page publishes a charge or a payment route for the Hilo or Kapolei home. The only cost term in the sources cited here is in the Hilo home's admission test: MyArmyBenefits says a veteran must be able to pay the resident's portion of the cost of care at the Yukio Okutsu State Veterans Home. Ask each home's business office for its current daily rate in writing, for the veteran and, separately, for a spouse.

Here's how the federal money works, so the number you're quoted makes sense. VA pays a recognized State Veterans Home to help defray the cost of care for veterans, and VA says the cost to the resident varies by state. VA's basic State home per diem for an eligible veteran is the lesser of one-half of the daily cost of the care or the basic per diem rate VA sets each fiscal year, and by statute those payments can never exceed half the cost of the veteran's care. VA doesn't pay for the care of a non-veteran in a State Veterans Home, so a spouse or Gold Star parent admitted to either Hawaii home has no VA per diem behind the bill.

When VA Pays a Hawaii State Veterans Home in Full

For some Hawaii families, the unpublished rate may not matter at all. Under 38 U.S.C. 1745 and 38 CFR 51.41, VA pays a State home for nursing home care under a contract or State home care agreement for three groups of veterans, each of whom must need nursing home care:

  • a veteran who needs nursing home care for a VA adjudicated service-connected disability;
  • a veteran with a service-connected disability rated at 70% or more who needs nursing home care;
  • a veteran with a rating of total disability based on individual unemployability (TDIU) who needs nursing home care, a group 38 CFR 51.41 adds.

For a veteran who needs nursing home care and either needs it for a service-connected disability, has a service-connected disability rated 70% or more, or has a TDIU rating, VA's payment to the State home is payment in full for that nursing home care, and under a State home care agreement the home may not charge any individual, insurer or other entity besides VA for the nursing home care VA paid for. The 70% group, as 38 U.S.C. 1745 words it, asks for a service-connected disability rated at 70% or more and a need for nursing home care; it doesn't say the rated condition must be the reason for that care. Under 38 CFR 51.41, the bar on charging the family covers nursing home care VA paid for under a State home care agreement, so ask the Hilo or Kapolei home whether it has a State home care agreement with VA and how it bills VA for your parent's level of care before anyone signs an admission agreement.

A disability claim still pending at admission can still pay off. Under 38 CFR 51.41, when a veteran receives a retroactive service-connected rating that brings him within the payment-in-full rule, the State home can ask VA for payment for nursing home care back to the rating's retroactive effective date or February 2, 2013, whichever is later. If your parent's rating may qualify, VA disability compensation is where that claim starts.

Med-QUEST and VA Pension at the Hilo and Kapolei Homes

No source cited here says whether the Hilo or Kapolei home accepts Hawaii Med-QUEST, Hawaii's Medicaid program, so ask the home directly. Our guide to Hawaii Medicaid and nursing home care explains the income and asset rules.

A wartime veteran or surviving spouse may also qualify for VA pension, including Aid and Attendance; see how Aid and Attendance helps pay for a nursing home in Hawaii.

One federal rule protects that pension in a State Veterans Home. When a veteran with no spouse or child is on Medicaid in a nursing facility, 38 U.S.C. 5503 generally caps his VA pension at $90 a month, but the statute's definition of "nursing facility" for that cap excludes a State home for which VA pays per diem for nursing home care. So the $90 VA pension cap must not be applied to a Medicaid-covered veteran living in a State home for which VA makes per diem payments for nursing home care. No source cited here says whether VA pays per diem for nursing home care at the Hilo or Kapolei home, so ask the home directly, then confirm with VA or an accredited veterans service officer how the $90 pension cap applies to your parent's own award.

How to Start an Application at Each Home

Each home takes its own inquiries, and OVS gives a different first step for each.

Yukio Okutsu State Veterans Home (Hilo)

1
Step 1

Call the home

OVS tells interested veterans to contact the Yukio Okutsu State Veterans Home at (808) 961-1500, the same number MyArmyBenefits gives for questions.

2
Step 2

Or start with the doctor

OVS says interested veterans can instead talk with their primary care physician about the Hilo home.

3
Step 3

Have the Hilo checklist ready

Before the call, gather proof of the veteran's discharge, age and Hawaii residency, since the Hilo test published by MyArmyBenefits turns on all three.

Daniel K. Akaka State Veterans Home (Kapolei)

On its State Veteran Homes page, OVS tells veterans interested in the Kapolei home to fill out the form it links. OVS's May 2026 newsletter names a contact in the Daniel K. Akaka State Veterans Home's admissions department, at an office number of 808.751.3272, and invites veterans who may benefit from skilled nursing care to schedule a tour or ask about eligibility. Neither OVS source gives a waiting time for the Kapolei home, so ask when you call.

For help pulling together the VA paperwork either home may ask for, start with VA benefits for senior care in Hawaii.

If No Bed Opens at Either Home

It's hard to hear "no bed right now" when a parent needs care this week. VA has two nursing home programs of its own. A VA Community Living Center is a VA-run nursing home, most often used for short stays after a hospital discharge, and eligibility turns on clinical need, setting availability, service-connected status, disability level and income. A VA Community Nursing Home is a non-VA nursing home VA contracts with, and VA pays only if the veteran meets its service-connected status, disability and income criteria. Our guide to VA nursing home care compares the two, and VA long-term care copays explains what a veteran may owe there.

For private options on every island, see nursing homes in Hawaii and memory care vs. a nursing home in Hawaii.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a Hawaii State Veterans Home on Maui?

Not yet. In its March 28, 2025 story, VA Pacific Islands Health Care System said a third State Veterans Home is planned for the island of Maui, but that the State was still working to secure a location. Until a Maui home opens, a Maui family's state veterans home options are Hilo and Kapolei.

Does the Kapolei home offer short-term rehab after a hospital stay?

OVS describes the Daniel K. Akaka State Veterans Home as a post-acute care and rehabilitation facility, and its May 2026 newsletter lists physical, occupational and speech therapy among the Kapolei home's services., Whether a short rehab stay is open to your parent is a question for the Kapolei home's admissions office.

If two veterans want the same bed in Hilo, who gets it?

MyArmyBenefits says the Yukio Okutsu State Veterans Home sets admission priority by severity of disability first, then capacity to earn a living, then length of military service, then amount of combat experience, and last the circumstances of the veteran's immediate family. No source cited here gives a waiting time for the Hilo home, so ask where your parent would fall on that list.

Learn More

VA BenefitsState Veterans Homes: Who Gets In, What It Costs, and How to ApplyState veterans homes are state-run, VA-certified care homes. See who gets in, how VA per diem and the 70% rating rule shape the cost, and find your state. VA BenefitsVA Benefits You Can Use for Senior Care in HawaiiA complete guide to VA senior care benefits in Hawaii: home care, nursing homes, Aid and Attendance, the state veterans home, and how to access them in 2026. VA BenefitsHow VA Aid and Attendance Helps Pay for a Nursing Home in HawaiiVA Aid and Attendance helps offset Hawaii's high nursing home costs. Learn 2026 rates, who qualifies, the $90/month Medicaid cap, and how Med-QUEST interacts. MedicaidHawaii Medicaid and Nursing Home CareHow Hawaii Medicaid nursing home coverage works in 2026: Med-QUEST eligibility, the asset limit, the spend-down income path, and estate recovery. VA BenefitsVA Nursing Homes and Community Living CentersVA community living centers, contracted nursing homes, and state veterans homes: who VA must cover, what the 70% rule means, 21 free days, and the daily copay.

Find personalized help choosing and applying to a Hawaii veterans home 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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