Kentucky Veterans Homes: Who Qualifies, Cost, How to Apply

If your dad is a veteran who now needs nursing care around the clock, Kentucky's state veterans nursing homes may take him, but not your mom unless she served too. The Kentucky Department of Veterans Affairs (KDVA) runs four Kentucky Veterans Centers, in Wilmore, Hazard, Hanson and Radcliff, and KDVA states that a veteran's spouse can be admitted to a Kentucky state veterans home only if the spouse is also a veteran.1

In This Guide

• Key Takeaways
• What a Kentucky State Veterans Home Is
• Kentucky's Four Veterans Centers, and the One Coming in Bowling Green
• Who Can Move Into a Kentucky Veterans Home?
• What Does a Kentucky Veterans Center Cost?
• When VA Pays a Kentucky Veterans Center in Full
• How to Apply to a Kentucky Veterans Center
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Learn More

What a Kentucky State Veterans Home Is

A State Veterans Home is owned, operated and managed by a state government, not by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. VA must formally recognize and certify each State Veterans Home and then surveys it every year to make sure it still meets VA standards, and each state sets its own eligibility and admission rules.2

Kentucky's State Veterans Homes are the Kentucky Veterans Centers that KDVA operates as skilled long-term care communities for Kentucky's veterans. Every Kentucky Veterans Center offers 24/7 skilled nursing care; rehabilitation services, including physical, occupational and speech therapy; and secured environments for residents diagnosed with dementia or Alzheimer's disease.1

A Kentucky Veterans Center is a nursing home and nothing else. KDVA says Thomson-Hood is strictly a nursing home for veterans who require nursing care by a registered nurse, and that the new Bowling Green center will not provide any other level of care: no assisted living, personal care, domiciliary care or adult day health care.1 If your parent mainly needs help at home, our guide to VA benefits for senior care in Kentucky covers the options that fit earlier stages, and our national guide to State Veterans Homes shows how the program works in every state.

Kentucky's Four Veterans Centers, and the One Coming in Bowling Green

If you can, choose the Kentucky Veterans Center closest to the people who will visit. Here are KDVA's four open centers, with the phone numbers listed on the U.S. Army's official benefits site.1

Thomson-Hood in Wilmore was Kentucky's first state-run veterans nursing home, admitting its first resident on August 25, 1991, and KDVA says it is still the largest facility KDVA operates. The Carl M. Brashear Radcliff Veterans Center, near Fort Knox, opened in 2017.1

A fifth Kentucky Veterans Center, the Robert E. Spiller Bowling Green Veterans Center, is built but not yet open. As of September 2026, KDVA says construction of the Robert E. Spiller Bowling Green Veterans Center is complete and its grand opening is set for later this year; the Bowling Green Veterans Center building is about 80,000 square feet with sixty private suites.1 Families in south-central Kentucky may want to ask KDVA about Bowling Green while also applying to an open center.

Who Can Move Into a Kentucky Veterans Home?

Kentucky's admission rule is set by regulation, 17 KAR 3:042. Under 17 KAR 3:042, a person admitted to a Kentucky Veterans Center must:1

• be a veteran;
• be disabled by reason of disease, wounds or age, or otherwise be in need of nursing care;
• be a Kentucky resident as of the date of admission; and
• have a military discharge that is not of a dishonorable nature.

17 KAR 3:042 also makes a person ineligible for a Kentucky Veterans Center if the person has needs the center cannot meet.1

The rule to check first is Kentucky's veterans-only rule. KDVA states that a person must be a veteran to qualify for admission to any Kentucky state veterans home, that a veteran's spouse may be admitted only if the spouse is also a veteran, and that spouses and Gold Star members are not currently eligible in Kentucky.1 That is a Kentucky choice, not a federal one: VA says some State Veterans Homes admit non-veteran spouses and Gold Star parents while others admit only veterans.2 If both parents need care, plan for the non-veteran parent separately; our guide to Kentucky Medicaid and nursing home care is the place to start.

A service-connected rating is not on the 17 KAR 3:042 list. What a rating can change is the bill, covered below.1

What Does a Kentucky Veterans Center Cost?

The hardest part of budgeting for a Kentucky Veterans Center is that most families will not know the monthly bill until they call. KDVA says veterans are charged a reasonable monthly fee based on the type of accommodation, and that Kentucky Veterans Centers accept Medicare, Medicaid, private pay and many insurance policies.1

Kentucky regulation 17 KAR 3:020 sets how each Kentucky Veterans Center charges:1

• Private pay: each facility sets its own private pay rate for room and board, based on the total cost of care, community rates and available revenue sources, with a separate charge for a semi-private room, a private room and a suite.
• Medicaid: a Medicaid-qualified resident's monthly charge is set by the Kentucky Department for Medicaid Services under 907 KAR 1:006.
• Qualifying service-connected veterans: a veteran who meets 38 U.S.C. 1745(a) for a service-connected disability shall not be charged for any room and board, goods or services.

KDVA does not publish a private pay rate for Thomson-Hood, Eastern Kentucky, Western Kentucky or Radcliff on the pages we rely on. Call each Kentucky Veterans Center's admissions office on your parent's behalf, ask for its current semi-private and private rates in writing, and ask which of the payment routes above your parent may fit. As of September 2026, KDVA lists a rate of $5,000 per month for a private suite with a private bath at the Bowling Green Veterans Center, which has not yet opened.1

If the bill is more than your parent's income can cover, look at Medicaid, listed above, and at VA money. Under VA's State Veterans Home per diem, VA pays the state for each eligible veteran in a State home at the lesser of one-half of the daily cost of care or the basic per diem rate VA sets each fiscal year.3 A veteran paying privately may also qualify for a VA pension with Aid and Attendance; our guide to Aid and Attendance for a nursing home in Kentucky explains how that money works alongside nursing home costs.

When VA Pays a Kentucky Veterans Center in Full

For some Kentucky veterans, the nursing home bill is zero. Under 38 U.S.C. 1745 and 38 CFR 51.41, VA contracts with State homes to pay for the nursing home care of:3

• a veteran who needs nursing home care for a VA adjudicated service-connected disability;
• a veteran with a service-connected disability rated at 70 percent or more who needs nursing home care; and
• a veteran with a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) who needs nursing home care.

For any of these three groups of veterans (service-connected need, a 70 percent or higher rating, or TDIU), VA's payment under 38 U.S.C. 1745 and 38 CFR 51.41 is payment in full to the State Veterans Home, and the home may not bill the veteran, an insurer or anyone other than VA for that nursing home care.3

Kentucky writes the same protection into its own rule, the 17 KAR 3:020 no-charge rule covered in the cost section above. Because every Kentucky Veterans Center is a skilled nursing home, the veterans this reaches are ones who need nursing home care. KDVA says veterans awarded a 70% or higher VA disability rating have no out-of-pocket costs at a Kentucky Veterans Center because VA pays a full per diem, and KDVA's Bowling Green page says the Bowling Green center's no-cost group is prevailing rate veterans: 70% or above service-connected, or 60% service-connected and permanently unemployable.1 Bring the veteran's VA rating letter to the first conversation with admissions.

How to Apply to a Kentucky Veterans Center

Applying to a Kentucky Veterans Center starts with one center, not a statewide form. KDVA's admission page links a separate online admissions inquiry for each open center, and the U.S. Army's benefits site likewise says to use the online application inquiry for the Kentucky Veterans Center the veteran is interested in.1

KDVA lists these documents as required before admission to a Kentucky Veterans Center:1

• a legible copy of the veteran's DD214 showing veteran status with an other than dishonorable discharge;
• proof of Kentucky residency, such as a copy of a bill or an ID with the address;
• copies of insurance cards, including Medicare, Medicaid and any supplemental cards;
• a copy of the VA Disability Award Letter, only for veterans receiving compensation of 70% or more;1
• a copy of the power of attorney (financial and medical), health care surrogate or living will; and
• responsible party information: name, address and phone number.

If your parent can no longer sign for himself, the power of attorney is the document to chase first, because KDVA asks for it before admission.1

Learn More

Find personalized help choosing and applying to a Kentucky Veterans Center 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.