The posted monthly fee at a Louisiana state veterans home is not always what a family ends up paying. As of September 2026, the Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs (LDVA) listed a $2,424 monthly fee for a veteran rated below 70% service-connected and $5,500 for a veteran's spouse or a Gold Star parent, but LDVA's own admissions application says the rate is based on total household financial resources, and LDVA's fee list says a veteran rated 70% or higher may be eligible to live in one of its homes free of charge. Louisiana's state veterans homes provide nursing care.

If your dad or your husband can't safely stay at home anymore and someone has mentioned "the veterans home," you're probably weighing two questions at once: will he get in, and can the family afford it. LDVA runs five state veterans homes, in Jackson, Monroe, Bossier City, Reserve and Jennings. Below is what LDVA's pages, its admissions application and federal law say about each question.

In This Guide

Louisiana's Five State Veterans Homes

State Veterans Homes are owned, operated and managed by state governments, not by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. VA certifies each State Veterans Home, surveys it every year, and leaves eligibility and admission rules to the state. In Louisiana, that state operator is LDVA, and the U.S. Army's MyArmyBenefits Louisiana page describes LDVA's five homes as providing short- and long-term nursing care for eligible veterans and their family members.

Home Address Parish Beds Phone
Louisiana Veterans Home 4739 Highway 10, Jackson, LA 70748 East Feliciana 129 (225) 634-5265
Northeast Louisiana Veterans Home 6700 Highway 165, North Monroe, LA 71203 Ouachita 156 (318) 362-4206
Northwest Louisiana Veterans Home 3130 Arthur Ray Teague Parkway, Bossier City, LA 71112 Bossier 156 (318) 741-2763
Southeast Louisiana Veterans Home 4080 W. Airline Highway, Reserve, LA 70084 St. John the Baptist 156 (985) 479-4080
Southwest Louisiana Veterans Home 1610 Evangeline Road, Jennings, LA 70546 Jefferson Davis 156 (337) 824-2829

The addresses, phone numbers and bed counts above are the ones on each home's LDVA page; the U.S. Army's MyArmyBenefits page lists the same addresses and main phone numbers. LDVA's home pages name the parishes each home sits closest to, then say plainly that a veteran does not have to live in those parishes to live in that home. So if the Bossier City home is near your sister and the Reserve home is near you, either one is open to your dad.

A few details can help you picture daily life. LDVA says the Northwest Louisiana Veterans Home sits near Barksdale Air Force Base and the Overton Brooks VA Medical Center, the Southeast Louisiana Veterans Home is next to the VA Community Based Outpatient Clinic in St. John the Baptist Parish, and the Southwest Louisiana Veterans Home is the only one of LDVA's homes on land adjoining one of its veterans cemeteries. Among the features LDVA lists for its homes are veterans assistance counselors on staff to help with benefits, 24/7 registered nurse coverage, a full-time pharmacist, a full-time dietician, a full-time master's-level social worker, and a memory care wing for Alzheimer's or dementia-related diagnoses.

For the wider picture of VA help for an aging Louisiana veteran, see our guide to VA senior care benefits in Louisiana, and for how state homes work across the country, see how State Veterans Homes work.

Who Qualifies for a Louisiana Veterans Home?

Every state writes its own admission rules for its State Veterans Homes. LDVA's short version is that honorably discharged veterans who served 90 days of active duty, in wartime or peacetime, eligible National Guard and Reserve members, spouses of veterans and Gold Star parents are eligible for a Louisiana veterans home. The rules printed in LDVA's admissions application go further, and three of them decide real cases:

  • Louisiana residency: the veteran must be a Louisiana resident, but LDVA's application says state residence is not mandatory when the applicant is referred by an in-state VA medical center or by an LDVA veterans assistance counselor.
  • Short service: a veteran with fewer than 90 days of active service still qualifies for a Louisiana veterans home if discharged because of a disability incurred in the line of duty, under honorable conditions. A Guard or Reserve member called to active federal duty (other than active-duty training), or disabled by a disease or injury incurred or aggravated in the line of duty or in training status, also qualifies for a Louisiana veterans home under LDVA's admissions application.
  • Family members: the spouse, surviving spouse and Gold Star parents of an eligible veteran may be admitted to a Louisiana veterans home. LDVA's application says a divorced spouse is no longer eligible, and a widow or widower stays eligible unless or until they remarry someone who is not a veteran.

That last rule means your mother, as a veteran's widow, may be able to move into a Louisiana veterans home herself, and VA notes that some states' homes admit only veterans.

LDVA's application then sets gates every applicant has to clear. Before admission to a Louisiana veterans home, a medical examination must confirm that the applicant doesn't have a communicable disease (a negative chest x-ray is required on admission), doesn't need medical care the home isn't equipped to provide, and doesn't show violent traits that may endanger the veteran, other residents or staff. LDVA's application also requires that a Louisiana veterans home applicant agree to follow the home's rules, that the veteran or whoever handles his finances agree to pay the full care and maintenance fee, and that the applicant have no criminal charges pending and not be required to register as a sex offender.

What a Louisiana Veterans Home Costs

Money is usually where the hardest family conversations happen, often late at night with a calculator. As of September 2026, LDVA posted three fee tiers for its Louisiana veterans homes:

Who LDVA's posted monthly fee
Veteran with a VA service-connected rating of 70% or higher, or admitted with a diagnosis related to a service connection at any rating May be eligible to live there free of charge, LDVA says (Louisiana's veterans homes provide nursing care)
Veteran with a VA service-connected rating below 70% $2,424 as of September 2026 (LDVA says VA sets this fee and it changes each year)
Spouse of a veteran, Gold Star parent, or eligible National Guard/Reservist $5,500 (LDVA says this fee is subject to change)

LDVA compares that with traditional nursing homes, which it says typically charge private rates of $6,000 to $7,000 a month or more. LDVA's fee list also says service-connected veterans rated over 50% receive their medications at no cost in a Louisiana veterans home.

Here's what the fee list doesn't say, and it matters if your parent's income is modest. Louisiana law, La. R.S. 29:383, lets LDVA charge reasonable rates only to residents capable of paying, through a charge system that takes the resident's income and estate into account. LDVA's admissions application says the Louisiana care and maintenance rate isn't guaranteed, is based on total combined household financial resources, is reviewed each year by VA, and changes retroactively when family income changes. And a Louisiana veterans home's administrator may consider waiving the fee for the amount of the difference between the veteran's and spouse's total income and the total charge. In plain terms, the $2,424 or $5,500 LDVA posted as of September 2026 is the most LDVA posts, not a price every family pays, so ask the admissions coordinator to walk through your parent's actual numbers. Because LDVA says the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs sets the $2,424 Louisiana veterans home fee and changes it annually, confirm the current fee with the Louisiana home before you plan around it.

Your parent may also have more income to work with than you think. LDVA's application says each home's veterans assistance counselor will help the veteran apply for VA pension and Aid and Attendance, which LDVA describes as a federal program meant to reduce the financial burden of admission. Our guide to using Aid and Attendance toward a Louisiana nursing home explains that claim.

When VA Pays the Whole Bill

For some veterans, the bill looks completely different. VA pays a State home a per diem toward an eligible veteran's care, paid to the state, and 38 U.S.C. 1741 caps that basic per diem at half the cost of the veteran's care. A separate federal rule, 38 U.S.C. 1745 together with VA's regulation at 38 CFR 51.41, makes VA's payment to a State home for nursing home care payment in full, and bars the home from charging anyone other than VA for that care, when the veteran is in one of these groups:

LDVA's own fee list says much the same thing in its own words: a veteran rated 70% or higher, or admitted to a Louisiana veterans home with a diagnosis related to a service connection at any rating, may be eligible to live there free of charge. The federal payment-in-full rule applies only when the veteran needs nursing home care, which is the care LDVA's homes provide., If your parent is rated TDIU, bring the VA rating decision letter to the first meeting with the Louisiana home, because TDIU is on the federal 38 CFR 51.41 list even though LDVA's fee page doesn't mention it.

How to Apply to a Louisiana Veterans Home

LDVA's application is long, but most of it is information you already have in a drawer somewhere. LDVA's home pages say you can complete the admissions application and send it to the home's admissions coordinator, or call the home for help.

1
Step 1

Pick the Louisiana home you prefer

LDVA's application asks for one preferred facility, and MyArmyBenefits says the application goes to the admissions coordinator at that home. Each of LDVA's five Louisiana veterans homes keeps office hours Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

2
Step 2

Gather the attachments

LDVA's application asks for a copy of the DD-214, the VA service-connected award letter, and a copy of every insurance card, including Medicare cards.

3
Step 3

Have the doctor or nurse complete the medical section

LDVA's application has a request-for-medical-information section to be completed by a doctor or nurse.

4
Step 4

Answer the legal and income pages

LDVA's application asks whether the applicant has been interdicted, has a power of attorney, a do-not-resuscitate request or a living will, or has pending charges, and wants legal documentation for any yes answer. It also asks for the applicant's and spouse's monthly income by source, with proof.

5
Step 5

Send it to the admissions coordinator

at the Louisiana home you chose, and call if you'd like help with any page.

LDVA doesn't publish a waiting list or wait time for its Louisiana veterans homes, so ask the admissions coordinator where things stand once the application is in. If you'd rather talk to someone first, LDVA's main line is (225) 219-5000.

Frequently Asked Questions

What if my father's VA disability rating comes through after he moves in?

When a retroactive VA service-connected rating brings a veteran within VA's payment-in-full rules, 38 CFR 51.41 lets the State home request VA payment back to the rating's effective date or February 2, 2013, whichever is later. Tell the Louisiana home's business office the day a new VA disability rating arrives.

Why does LDVA's application ask for marriage and bank records?

LDVA's application includes a page of documents that, where they apply, are needed to file claims for VA benefits, among them the military discharge, the two most recent bank statements, a marriage license and a divorce decree. LDVA says the home's veterans assistance counselor helps with those VA pension and Aid and Attendance applications.

Does the $90 VA pension limit for Medicaid nursing home residents apply here?

Under 38 U.S.C. 5503(d), VA pension for a veteran with no spouse or child who is covered by Medicaid in a nursing facility is capped at $90 a month after the month of admission. That federal definition of nursing facility excludes a State home that receives VA's section 1741(a) per diem, so the $90 cap does not apply to a veteran in that setting.

Will the fee change after my parent moves in?

It can. LDVA's application says the Louisiana care and maintenance fee changes retroactively when family income changes, and that the facility will make every effort to give at least 30 days' notice of a fee change. Report any change in your parent's income to the home promptly.

Will Medicare pay for a long stay?

Medicare Part A covers skilled nursing facility care only short-term, generally after a qualifying hospital stay of at least three days, and it doesn't pay for long-term custodial care.

Learn More

VA BenefitsHow State Veterans Homes WorkState 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 Senior Care Benefits in LouisianaA complete guide to VA senior care benefits in Louisiana: home care, nursing homes, Aid and Attendance, state veterans homes, and how to access them in 2026. VA BenefitsUsing Aid and Attendance Toward a Louisiana Nursing HomeVA Aid and Attendance pays up to $29,093 a year, about $2,424 a month, toward nursing home care in Louisiana. See who qualifies and how to apply in 2026. VA BenefitsLouisiana Aid and Attendance GuideVA Aid and Attendance in Louisiana for 2026: who qualifies, monthly rates up to $2,874, how to apply, and free accredited help from LDVA parish offices.

Find personalized help getting a veteran parent into a Louisiana state 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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