A veteran who lives in Maine today can apply to a Maine Veterans' Home even if he enlisted from another state, and his spouse, widow or Gold Star parents may qualify too. Maine law requires the Maine Veterans' Homes to be located in Augusta, Bangor, Caribou, Machias, Scarborough and South Paris, and bars any of the six from closing unless the MVH board follows a process set in state law. If you're weighing one for a parent who can't safely stay at home any longer, here is who gets in, how the bill gets paid, and how the Maine Veterans' Homes waitlist works.

In This Guide

What a Maine Veterans' Home Is

A State Veterans Home is a home VA formally recognizes and certifies, then surveys every year against VA standards, while each state sets its own eligibility and admission rules. Our national guide to State Veterans Homes explains how the program works in every state.

Maine's version is run by Maine Veterans' Homes (MVH), which describes itself as an independent, nonprofit organization separate from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). MVH also stresses that getting VA health care benefits is a separate process from getting admitted to a Maine Veterans' Home. So a "no" or a "not yet" from VA on a health care claim doesn't answer whether your parent can live at MVH.

Maine law also protects where the homes are. Under 37-B M.R.S. §601, the Maine Veterans' Homes must be located in Augusta, Bangor, Caribou, Machias, Scarborough and South Paris, and no Maine Veterans' Home may stop providing services unless the MVH Board of Trustees follows the closure process in section 612.

The Six Maine Veterans' Homes

The six homes are spread across Maine, from Caribou and Machias in the north and east to Scarborough and South Paris in the south, so the home nearest your family may settle the choice before care levels do. The Army's MyArmyBenefits Maine page lists the six Maine Veterans' Homes at the street addresses below, and each MVH home page lists the levels of care that home offers:

Home Street address Size MVH lists Levels of care MVH lists
Augusta 35 Heroes Way 138 private rooms Short-term skilled rehabilitation and nursing, long-term care, memory care, residential care, respite care, outpatient therapy
Bangor 44 Hogan Road 150 beds Long-term care, short-term skilled nursing, residential care, memory care, rehabilitation and therapy
Caribou 163 Van Buren Road, Suite 2 70 beds Long-term and short-term skilled nursing, rehabilitation and therapy, residential care, memory care, respite care
Machias 32 Veterans Way Not printed here Memory care, residential care, respite care
Scarborough 290 US Route 1 150 beds Long-term and short-term skilled rehabilitation and nursing, residential care, memory care, rehabilitation and therapy, respite care
South Paris 477 High Street 90 beds Long-term and short-term care, residential care, memory care, rehabilitation and therapy, respite care

Machias is the one to read carefully. MVH's Machias page lists only memory care, residential care and respite care, and describes MVH Machias as offering assisted living, memory care and respite care, so if your parent needs skilled or long-term nursing care, ask about the other five Maine Veterans' Homes. We don't print a Machias bed count because MVH's page and the Army's page give different numbers.

Two of the homes sit on hospital campuses: MVH says MVH Caribou is on the campus of Cary Medical Center and MVH Machias is on the campus of Down East Community Hospital. That can matter for a parent with frequent appointments.

Who Qualifies for a Maine Veterans' Home

The admission rule is written into Maine law, and it's broader than many families assume. Under 37-B M.R.S. §607, the MVH chief executive officer may admit only:

  • Veterans with a Maine connection: veterans who were Maine residents when they entered the U.S. Armed Forces, or who are Maine residents when they apply.
  • Spouses, widows and widowers: the spouses, widows or widowers of eligible veterans, "as long as suitable facilities are available."
  • Gold Star parents: parents of service members who were killed in action or died of wounds received in battle.

The residency rule works in two directions. A father who enlisted from Maine and retired to Florida can come home to a Maine Veterans' Home, and a father who enlisted from Ohio and moved to Maine to be near you qualifies because he lives in Maine now.

Discharge matters too. Under 37-B M.R.S. §601, the primary purpose of the Maine Veterans' Homes is care for honorably discharged veterans who served on active duty, or who served in the Reserves on active duty for other than training purposes, and the Army's MyArmyBenefits Maine page says a Maine Veterans' Home applicant must be an honorably discharged veteran.

For a spouse or parent, the Army's MyArmyBenefits Maine page puts the limit plainly: the spouse, surviving spouse and Gold Star parents of an eligible veteran "may be admitted if there is space available." A mother whose husband has died can apply on her own, but she may wait longer than a veteran would, as the waitlist section explains.

Payment rules are written into the same section. Under 37-B M.R.S. §607, admission to a Maine Veterans' Home must be granted when the rules governing private payment, Medicare and Medicaid eligibility are met.

How a Stay at a Maine Veterans' Home Is Paid For

This is usually the question keeping you up at night, so here is what MVH itself says. Maine Veterans' Homes accepts VA benefits, Medicare, MaineCare, long-term care insurance and private funds. If your parent holds a long-term care insurance policy, MVH says the insurer reimburses the resident directly and MVH supplies the paperwork.

MVH ties the money to the level of care:

  • Long-term care: MVH says a resident must meet medical requirements through a completed Maximus evaluation and have funding through private funds, MaineCare coverage for long-term care, or VA coverage as what MVH calls a "70% eligible Veteran."
  • Residential care: a resident needs a completed Maximus evaluation and funding through private funds or MaineCare coverage for residential care; VA coverage isn't on MVH's list for this level.
  • Respite care: a respite stay needs no Maximus assessment, is paid privately by the resident, and runs 10 to 30 days.

MVH doesn't publish a daily rate on the pages we rely on, so we don't print one. Ask the Admissions Team at the Maine Veterans' Home you're considering for the current private-pay rate at your parent's level of care. For how MaineCare pays for nursing home care, see our guide to Maine Medicaid and nursing home care.

Medicare Part A won't carry a long stay at a Maine Veterans' Home. Medicare Part A covers skilled nursing facility care only on a short-term basis after a qualifying hospital stay, pays nothing after day 100, and doesn't pay for long-term custodial care.

If the person moving in is your mother rather than your veteran father, VA money won't lower her bill. VA does not pay a State Veterans Home for the care of non-veterans, so a spouse's or Gold Star parent's stay at a Maine Veterans' Home has to be covered by the other payers MVH accepts: Medicare, MaineCare, long-term care insurance or private funds., For an eligible veteran, VA's State Veterans Home per diem goes to the state at the lesser of one-half of the daily cost of care or the basic per diem rate VA sets each fiscal year, and under 37-B M.R.S. §610-A the Maine Veterans' Homes keep that VA stipend money as direct income.,

If your parent may qualify for a VA pension with Aid and Attendance, our guide to Aid and Attendance for a nursing home in Maine explains how that monthly money can help with nursing home costs.

When VA Pays for Nursing Care in Full

For some veterans, the nursing care bill at a State Veterans Home is zero. Under 38 U.S.C. 1745 and 38 CFR 51.41, VA contracts with State Veterans Homes to pay for the nursing home care of:

  • 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;
  • a veteran with a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) who needs nursing home care.

For a veteran who needs nursing home care and either needs that care for a service-connected disability, is rated 70 percent or more service-connected, or is rated TDIU, VA's payment to a State Veterans Home under 38 U.S.C. 1745 and 38 CFR 51.41 is payment in full for that nursing home care, and under a State home care agreement the State Veterans Home may not charge the veteran, an insurer or anyone other than VA for the care VA paid for.

MVH describes the same arrangement in its own words. Maine Veterans' Homes says a veteran rated 70 percent or higher service-connected by VA is eligible to have care needs fully covered by VA at a nursing home level of care, and that MVH files the stipend application automatically for eligible veterans. MVH's page mentions only the 70 percent group, so if your parent's rating is lower but the nursing care need comes from a service-connected condition, or your parent is rated TDIU, bring the VA decision letter and ask the MVH Admissions Team to confirm in writing how the home bills VA under 38 CFR 51.41.

A rating that comes through after admission still counts. Under 38 CFR 51.41, a State Veterans Home can bill VA under its State home care agreement back to the effective date of a retroactive service-connected rating, or February 2, 2013, whichever is later. If a claim is pending, don't wait on it to apply.

How to Apply and How the Waitlist Works

Under 37-B M.R.S. §607, a Maine Veterans' Home application goes on the forms MVH's chief executive officer prescribes, and the Army's MyArmyBenefits Maine page points applicants to MVH's online request for an application. MVH accepts both online and paper applications that give an email address for contact.

1
Step 1

Call the home you want

MVH suggests contacting one of the six Maine Veterans' Homes and asking for a tour, then talking with that home's Admissions Team about admission criteria, level of care, financial options and the application.

2
Step 2

Find the DD-214

MVH asks for the veteran's DD-214 discharge paperwork, and its Admissions Team offers help getting a copy if you can't find it.

3
Step 3

Tell the doctor

MVH asks you to tell your parent's primary care provider that you plan to apply.

4
Step 4

Gather three things

MVH says a Maine Veterans' Home application needs medical history and the doctor's contact information, the level of care your parent requires, and the payment source, such as VA benefits, Medicaid, Medicare or other resources.

MVH doesn't publish a wait time. Here is how the Maine Veterans' Homes waitlist works, in MVH's words:

  • Vacancies go to the list. When a bed opens at a Maine Veterans' Home, the people on that home's waitlist are contacted.
  • Saying no isn't the end. An applicant who declines an offer may stay on the MVH waitlist, or be removed if circumstances have changed.
  • Veterans go first. Veterans get priority on the MVH waitlist over non-veterans, meaning spouses of veterans and Gold Star parents.
  • Serious illness can move you up. MVH says applicants with a serious medical condition will be considered for priority status.

For help with a VA disability claim or other benefits while you wait, our guide to VA benefits for senior care in Maine points to Maine's veterans service offices.

Frequently Asked Questions

How would a veteran's widow pay for long-term care at a Maine Veterans' Home?

Without VA's help, in most cases. VA pays nothing toward a non-veteran's care at a State Veterans Home. For long-term care at a Maine Veterans' Home, MVH says a veteran's widow needs a completed Maximus evaluation plus private funds or MaineCare coverage for long-term care, and MVH says a long-term care insurer reimburses the resident directly. If her own savings are thin, start the MaineCare application alongside the MVH application.

Does Medicare pay for the first weeks at a Maine Veterans' Home after a hospital stay?

It can, for skilled care only. Medicare Part A covers up to 100 days of skilled nursing facility care per benefit period after a qualifying inpatient hospital stay of at least three days: days 1 through 20 cost $0 after the Part A deductible, and days 21 through 100 carry a daily coinsurance of $217 in 2026. MVH lists short-term skilled nursing at Augusta, Bangor, Caribou and Scarborough and short-term care at South Paris, while MVH Machias lists only memory, residential and respite care.

Does a veteran need a VA disability rating to get into a Maine Veterans' Home?

No. The admission list in 37-B M.R.S. §607 covers Maine residency and family relationship, and a VA disability rating isn't on it. A rating matters for payment instead: for a veteran who needs nursing home care, a 70 percent or higher service-connected rating can make VA's payment to the home payment in full for that care.

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 MaineA guide to VA senior care benefits in Maine: home care, nursing homes, Aid and Attendance, the six Maine Veterans' Homes, and how to access them in 2026. VA BenefitsHow VA Aid and Attendance Helps Pay for a Nursing Home in MaineVA pension at the Aid and Attendance rate tops out at $29,093 a year toward Maine nursing home costs. Who qualifies, how it works, and how to apply in 2026. VA BenefitsHow VA Aid and Attendance Helps Pay for Memory Care in MaineVA Aid and Attendance can help pay for memory care in Maine: 2026 rates, why dementia usually qualifies, the medical-expense rule, and how to apply free. VA BenefitsVA Nursing Homes and Community Living Centers: Who Qualifies and What the VA PaysVA 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. VA BenefitsVA Long-Term Care Copays: What Families Pay and Who Pays NothingThe first 21 days are free. After that, the VA long-term care copay is up to $97 a day for a nursing home stay, and some veterans owe nothing. Who is exempt.

Find personalized help choosing and applying to a veterans home in Maine 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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