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

If your dad can't safely live at home anymore, Michigan's three veterans homes may take him, and under Michigan law your mom may be able to move in too. Michigan Veteran Homes runs the three homes, in Grand Rapids, Marquette and Chesterfield Township, and Michigan's veterans' facility law, MCL 36.106a, opens admission to a veteran's spouse, former spouse, widow or widower, or gold star parent as well as the veteran.1

In This Guide

• Key Takeaways
• What a Michigan Veteran Home Is
• The Three Michigan Veteran Homes
• Who Qualifies for a Michigan Veteran Home
• What a Michigan Veteran Home Costs
• When VA Pays for Nursing Care in Full
• How to Apply to a Michigan Veteran Home
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Learn More

What a Michigan Veteran Home Is

A State Veterans Home is owned, operated and managed by a state government, not by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, though VA must formally recognize and certify each State Veterans Home and then surveys it every year to make sure it still meets VA standards. Each state sets its own eligibility and admission rules for its State Veterans Homes.3

In Michigan, that system is Michigan Veteran Homes, which Michigan law, MCL 36.102, defines as the entity that centrally manages and operates the state's veterans' facilities.1 The National Association of State Veterans Homes lists all three Michigan Veteran Homes under "State Veterans Homes in Michigan," and says a nine-member board appointed by the Governor governs them.2 Michigan Veteran Homes describes itself as separate from VA, so a Michigan Veteran Home is not a VA hospital or a VA nursing home.1

If you're weighing a Michigan Veteran Home against a VA Community Living Center, our guide to VA nursing home care explains what VA runs itself, and our national guide to State Veterans Homes shows how the program works in every state.

The Three Michigan Veteran Homes

The home you can reach easily is the home you'll keep visiting, so choose by who will visit most often. The Marquette home is the one the National Association of State Veterans Homes lists as D.J. Jacobetti.2 The D.J. Jacobetti home in Marquette is also the only Michigan Veteran Home where Michigan Veteran Homes lists a separate domiciliary care fee, so a veteran who doesn't need nursing care should ask about that option there.1,2

Whichever home you pick, its team is available in person, by email or by phone to help you start, according to Michigan Veteran Homes.2

Who Qualifies for a Michigan Veteran Home

The good news for a family is that Michigan's door is wide. Michigan's veterans' facility law, MCL 36.106a, opens a Michigan Veteran Home to two groups:1

• The veteran: a veteran eligible for VA health care or VA financial assistance for long-term nursing or day care. For this Michigan law, MCL 36.102 counts someone as a veteran only if they were honorably discharged.
• A dependent of an eligible veteran: someone whose veteran is eligible for admission, or was eligible at the time of the veteran's death.

MCL 36.106a, Michigan's veterans' facility law, defines a dependent as the veteran's widow, widower, former spouse or spouse, or a gold star parent. Under MCL 36.106a, a gold star parent is someone whose son or daughter died while serving in the U.S. Armed Forces and meets the federal criteria for a gold star lapel button.1

Michigan's list is broader than some states' lists: VA says some State Veterans Homes admit non-veteran spouses and Gold Star parents while others admit only veterans.3 A parent who lives outside Michigan isn't ruled out either, because Michigan Veteran Homes says Michigan residency is not a requirement for admission.1

If you aren't sure whether your parent is enrolled in VA health care, sort that out first, because MCL 36.106a admits a veteran to a Michigan Veteran Home only if the veteran is eligible for VA health care or VA financial assistance for long-term nursing or day care.1 Our guide to VA health care priority groups explains how enrollment works.

What a Michigan Veteran Home Costs

A Michigan Veteran Home isn't free, but the Michigan Veteran Homes charge is built around what a family can pay. As a condition of admission, MCL 36.106a requires each veteran and dependent to agree to pay Michigan Veteran Homes a sum based on his or her income and assets for the care and services at the home.1

Michigan Veteran Homes explains how that works on its Benefits and Cost of Care page:1

• A yearly maximum: the MVFA Board of Directors determines the cost of care every year, and under MCL 36.106a the annual per diem rate goes to the board for approval.
• Separate rates for non-veterans: the page lists Veterans Fees and Non-Veterans Fees for nursing care, so a spouse's rate differs from the veteran's.
• Your own monthly assessment: each member's actual cost is set by a monthly assessment based on ability to pay, looking at assets, income, marital status and dependent expenses.
• Below the maximum when needed: residents unable to pay the maximum are assessed on their individual circumstances, and residents able to pay the full cost are expected to.

We don't print the Michigan Veteran Homes dollar maximums here, because the board resets them every year; check the Benefits and Cost of Care page for the current rates.1 If one parent will keep living at home, ask the Michigan Veteran Home how its monthly assessment counts that spouse, since marital status and dependent expenses are among the factors it weighs.

Keep one warning in view. Under MCL 36.106a, a Michigan Veteran Home resident's failure to pay the agreed amount is cause for dismissal from the home.1

VA money can also help. 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, and federal law caps VA's per diem at half the cost of that veteran's care.4 Michigan Veteran Homes also points families to VA's Aid and Attendance pension to see whether a daily stipend is available.1 Our guide to Aid and Attendance for a nursing home in Michigan explains how that VA pension money works alongside nursing home costs.

Medicare Part A covers skilled nursing facility care only on a short-term, post-acute basis and doesn't cover long-term custodial care, so Medicare won't carry a long stay at a Michigan Veteran Home.5

When VA Pays for Nursing Care in Full

For some veterans, the nursing care bill at a contracted State Veterans Home can be 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:4

• 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.

That is the difference between a monthly bill and none. For a veteran who needs nursing home care and needs it for a service-connected disability, is rated 70 percent or more, or has 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 under a State home care agreement the home may not charge the veteran, an insurer or anyone else besides VA for the nursing home care VA paid for.4

None of our sources says whether a particular Michigan Veteran Home holds that VA State home care agreement. Michigan law does say VA's direct payments for services to veterans at Michigan's veterans' facilities go into the homes' operating fund.1 Before you count on full payment, ask the admissions office at your chosen Michigan Veteran Home to confirm in writing that it will bill VA for your parent's nursing care under 38 CFR 51.41.

A pending claim is worth pushing. Under 38 CFR 51.41, when a veteran receives a retroactive service-connected rating that makes the veteran eligible for VA's full nursing-home payment (a service-connected need, a 70 percent or higher rating, or TDIU), the State home can request payment under its State home care agreement back to the rating's effective date or February 2, 2013, whichever is later.4 Have the veteran's current VA rating letter in hand when you apply.

How to Apply to a Michigan Veteran Home

Michigan Veteran Homes recommends three steps before you apply, then a completed application to the home you choose.2

Michigan Veteran Homes asks for these documents with the application:2

• the veteran's military discharge document (DD-214);
• copies of Medicare and any other health insurance ID cards;
• a physical from within the last 90 days;
• up to the past three years of federal income tax forms;
• proof of income and assets, such as bank statements, Social Security and pension benefits, annuity, stock or bond statements, and life insurance;
• any irrevocable trust;
• any guardianship, power of attorney, conservatorship or patient advocate forms.

If your parent can no longer sign for himself, start on that last item now: Michigan Veteran Homes asks for guardianship, power of attorney, conservatorship or patient advocate forms, along with the rest of the application.2

Learn More

Find personalized help choosing and applying to a Michigan Veteran 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.