If Dad is a Missouri veteran who now needs 24-hour skilled nursing care, a Missouri Veterans Home charges a 2026 monthly rate of $2,773. The Missouri Veterans Commission (MVC) runs seven of these state veterans homes, in Cameron, Cape Girardeau, Mexico, Mt. Vernon, St. James, St. Louis and Warrensburg, and one waitlist application covers all seven. Our national guide to State Veterans Homes shows how the program works in other states.

In This Guide

What Is a Missouri State Veterans Home?

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 against VA standards. Each state sets its own eligibility and admission rules for its State Veterans Homes.

In Missouri, that state operator is MVC. The seven Missouri Veterans Homes provide long-term skilled nursing care, with a licensed nurse on duty 24 hours a day, physician care, on-site physical, speech, occupational and recreational therapies, medication management, and transportation to VA appointments. Every Missouri Veterans Home also has a secure memory care unit.

So a Missouri Veterans Home is a state nursing home for veterans, not a VA hospital. If you're weighing it against a VA Community Living Center, our guide to VA nursing home care explains what VA runs itself, and our guide to VA benefits for senior care in Missouri covers the other help a Missouri veteran's family can use.

Where Are the Seven Missouri Veterans Homes?

Start with the home your family can visit most easily. The addresses and main phone numbers below come from MVC's Application for Admission (form MVC-38), and the admission coordinator numbers from MVC's admissions and Warrensburg pages.

Missouri Veterans Home Address Main phone Admission coordinator
Cameron 1111 Euclid, Cameron, MO 64429 816-632-6010 816-649-1673
Cape Girardeau 2400 Veterans Memorial Drive, Cape Girardeau, MO 63701 573-290-5870 573-986-4001
Mexico #1 Veterans Drive, Mexico, MO 65265 573-581-1088 573-567-8272
Mt. Vernon 1600 South Hickory, Mt. Vernon, MO 65712 417-466-7103 417-366-6062
St. James 620 North Jefferson, St. James, MO 65559 573-265-3271 573-899-6021
St. Louis 10600 Lewis and Clark Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63136 314-340-6389 314-421-8606
Warrensburg 1300 Veterans Road, Warrensburg, MO 64093 660-543-5064 660-429-4605

Each Missouri Veterans Home has a dedicated admissions team member who answers questions about the admissions process, so the coordinator line is the one to call first.

Who Can Get Into a Missouri Veterans Home?

MVC lists six conditions an individual must meet to be admitted to a Missouri Veterans Home:

  1. Meet the VA's criteria for veteran status.
  2. Require 24-hour skilled nursing care.
  3. Be a citizen of Missouri who has maintained a physical residency in Missouri for 180 consecutive days immediately before applying.
  4. Not appear on any sex offender registry.
  5. Have no conviction, or guilty or nolo contendere plea, in any state for a crime that would be a Class A or B felony if committed in Missouri.
  6. Have a condition the home has the resources to care for.

The last condition is the one that can stop an otherwise eligible veteran. Under that MVC condition, a Missouri Veterans Home can turn away a veteran whose care needs it doesn't have the resources for, so if Dad's needs are complex, talk to the admission coordinator before you apply.

Proving the nursing need and the residency

MVC's admissions page says the veteran must have documentation from a physician that he or she requires 24-hour skilled nursing care. For residency, the same MVC page says physically living in Missouri or proof of ownership of a residential home in Missouri meets the eligibility requirement for establishing residency. The Missouri Veterans Home checklist asks for proof of residency covering the last 6 consecutive months.

Missouri law reaches National Guard veterans too

Missouri's statute is broader than MVC's list on who counts. Under RSMo 42.105, citizens of Missouri who meet the VA's criteria for veteran status, or who have an honorable discharge from the National Guard, with preference given to the Missouri National Guard, and who require institutional health care services are entitled to admission into a Missouri veterans' home. RSMo 42.105 itself says nothing about a residency period, the sex offender registry or felonies; those three conditions come from MVC's own eligibility list.

On discharge, MVC's St. James residency FAQ sheet summarizes eligibility as a veteran with previous active duty who was discharged under conditions other than dishonorable. Eligibility and admission decisions for a Missouri Veterans Home are made by a team made up of the Administrator, Physician, Director of Nursing, Social Worker, Veterans Service Officer and other professionals as needed.

What Does a Missouri Veterans Home Cost?

MVC states a 2026 monthly rate of $2,773 for a Missouri Veterans Home, covering 24-hour licensed nursing, physician care, therapies, medication management, three daily meals and specialized diets, housekeeping, laundry and bedding, and daily activities and community outings. MVC's admissions page says the Missouri Veterans Home monthly rate is adjusted each year, with an expected cost-of-living (COLA) increase each January, so expect the figure to change in January 2027.

That rate is not the whole picture for every family, though. MVC's application says contracted services provided inside a Missouri Veterans Home may be billed to a private source of payment or to the veteran's medical insurance. Ask the coordinator which services at your chosen home are contracted.

If the monthly rate is more than your parent can pay

This is where many families stall, and it doesn't have to end the conversation. MVC's application packet says that if the Missouri Veterans Home monthly rate is not affordable, assistance may be available through the federal VA aid program if the veteran qualifies, and, if applicable, a hardship application can be submitted to the first-choice home with supporting documentation for consideration. One VA benefit families often look at here is the VA pension with Aid and Attendance; our guide to Aid and Attendance for a nursing home in Missouri walks through how it works.

The Missouri Veterans Home financial worksheet (form MVC-49) gives you a choice about your parent's finances. An applicant who chooses not to release financial information agrees to pay the Missouri Veterans Home the maximum monthly charge, while an applicant seeking financial assistance must verify current finances at admission. MVC's form MVC-49 also says spouse and dependent information is used to help file for possible VA benefits.

Where VA's per diem goes

VA pays a State Veterans Home a per diem for eligible veterans, and the cost to the resident varies by state. Under VA's State Veterans Home per diem rules, VA pays the State the lesser of one-half of the daily cost of care or the basic per diem rate VA sets each fiscal year, and by statute VA's per diem never exceeds half the cost of a veteran's care. Ask the admission coordinator how VA's per diem relates to the monthly rate your parent would pay. VA doesn't pay a State Veterans Home anything for the care of a non-veteran.

When Does VA Pay for the Nursing Care in Full?

For some veterans, the nursing care bill at a State Veterans Home can be zero. VA contracts with each State Veterans Home to pay for the nursing home care of three groups of veterans:

  • under 38 U.S.C. 1745, a veteran who needs nursing home care for a service-connected disability (VA's regulation says a VA adjudicated one);
  • under 38 U.S.C. 1745, a veteran with a service-connected disability rated at 70 percent or more who needs nursing home care;
  • under VA's regulation, 38 CFR 51.41, a veteran with a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) who needs nursing home care.

For a veteran in one of these three groups (service-connected need, a 70 percent or higher rating, or TDIU), VA's payment 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. Ask the admission coordinator how the Missouri Veterans Homes bill a veteran in one of these groups before you count on it.

Send the proof with the application. MVC's Missouri Veterans Home checklist lists an award letter for service-connected disability among the documents to submit if it applies.

A pending VA 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, 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.

How to Apply to a Missouri Veterans Home

Admission to a Missouri Veterans Home runs through a waitlist. An application is not considered complete until every form in MVC's packet is complete, so gather everything before you send it.

1
Step 1

Download MVC's Admissions Application Packet

It's linked from MVC's Veterans Homes page.

2
Step 2

Fill in the family forms

The veteran or representative completes MVC-38 (Application for Admission), MVC-47 (Application Medical Information), MVC-48 (Criminal Background Check), MVC-49 (Financial Income & Asset Worksheet) and MVC-50 (Notice of Privacy Practices).

3
Step 3

Have the doctor complete MVC-52

A health care provider fills in the Health Care Provider Medical Certification.

4
Step 4

Rank the homes and send the packet once

Mark every home you'd accept in order of preference, then send the complete packet by fax, mail, in person or email only to the admission coordinator at your first-choice home.

5
Step 5

Take the pre-screen call

Once the application is complete, a Missouri Veterans Home designee contacts you for a pre-screen assessment.

6
Step 6

Wait for the team's decision

An interdisciplinary team reviews the application, and you'll hear the decision by phone, email or mail.

7
Step 7

Stay ready while on the waitlist

If your parent is approved and placed on the waiting list, the home could schedule a reassessment before admission to check for changes in the veteran's condition.

Those steps come from MVC's application packet, which also lists being ready to admit to a Veterans Home as an admission criterion.

MVC's Missouri Veterans Home checklist (form MVC-51) lists these documents to submit with the application if they apply:

  • a copy of the DD-214 or equivalent;
  • the award letter for service-connected disability;
  • proof of residency for the last 6 consecutive months;
  • a driver's license or identification card;
  • Medicare and supplemental insurance cards, the VA medical card, and dental or other insurance cards;
  • a COVID-19 vaccination card;
  • durable power of attorney documents, advance directives, or guardianship or conservatorship papers.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will Dad get a private room at a Missouri Veterans Home?

Not at first. Every veteran moves into a shared room at a Missouri Veterans Home, and MVC offers private rooms by seniority as they become available. If a private room matters to Dad, ask the admission coordinator how long residents at your first-choice home usually wait for one.

Can Mom move into the Missouri Veterans Home with Dad?

Ask before you plan on it. MVC's eligibility list for a Missouri Veterans Home starts with meeting the VA's criteria for veteran status, and RSMo 42.105's only spouse language protects spouses who were already residents on August 28, 1989. VA notes that some State Veterans Homes may admit non-veteran spouses while others may admit only veterans, and VA pays nothing toward a non-veteran's care.

Where else can we get a Missouri Veterans Home application?

The National Association of State Veterans Homes' Missouri directory says applications may be obtained from any State Veterans Home or any State Service Officer. MVC also posts the packet online, which is the fastest route.

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 MissouriA complete guide to VA senior care benefits in Missouri: home care, nursing homes, Aid and Attendance, state veterans homes, and how to access them in 2026. VA BenefitsHow VA Aid and Attendance Helps Pay for a Nursing Home in MissouriVA pension with Aid and Attendance tops out at $29,093 a year (about $2,424 a month) toward Missouri nursing home costs in 2026. See how to qualify and apply. VA BenefitsHow VA Aid and Attendance Helps Pay for Memory Care in MissouriHow VA Aid and Attendance helps pay for memory care in Missouri: 2026 rates, why veterans with dementia qualify, and how to apply with free help. 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 Missouri 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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