At the New Mexico State Veterans' Home in Truth or Consequences, a resident's monthly charge is set from the resident's own income and resources, not from a posted price. The New Mexico State Veterans' Home is part of the New Mexico Department of Health's Facilities Division, so admissions and billing questions go to the home and the Department of Health. The New Mexico State Veterans' Home's 2025 presentation says VA covers the cost for veterans with a service-connected disability rating of 70% or higher. Under the federal rule behind that, VA's payment is payment in full for nursing home care for a veteran who needs that care and is rated 70% or more, has a TDIU rating, or needs it for a service-connected disability.

In This Guide

What a New Mexico 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). VA must formally recognize and certify each State Veterans Home and then surveys it every year against VA standards, and each state sets its own eligibility and admission rules. The New Mexico State Veterans' Home passed its VA recognition survey in March 2025, which officially recognized its six new houses, according to the home's 2025 presentation.

New Mexico's version surprises families in one way: the New Mexico State Veterans' Home is part of the New Mexico Department of Health's Facilities Division, and the Department of Health's page says the home itself establishes its fees and charges.

For how the program works in every state, see our national guide to State Veterans Homes. Our New Mexico VA senior care guide puts the veterans home next to the other VA benefits a New Mexico family can use.

Where New Mexico's Veterans Homes Are

The Department of Health's website describes two places with "Veterans Home" in the name, and they are very different settings.,

Facility Address and phone What the sources describe
New Mexico State Veterans' Home 992 South Broadway, Truth or Consequences, NM 87901; 575-894-4200 or toll-free 800-964-3976 Long-term care and skilled nursing with 24-hour nursing care; room for up to 131 residents; an Annex Building of 59 beds in 5 units, including secure units for memory care; six new 12-resident houses with private rooms and baths
Fort Bayard Medical Center / Fort Bayard State Veterans Home 41 Fort Bayard Road, PO Box 293, Santa Clara, NM 88026; 575-537-8900 or toll-free 800-541-6966 Short-term rehabilitation, long-term care and memory care, including in its licensed Veterans Home

The Department of Health calls the Truth or Consequences home "the state's first and only State Veterans Home," yet its Fort Bayard page carries the name Fort Bayard State Veterans Home and describes a licensed Veterans Home inside Fort Bayard Medical Center., If Fort Bayard is closer to your family, ask its admissions office which of its beds are in the licensed Veterans Home.

The two settings in Truth or Consequences

The home's 2025 presentation describes two very different buildings at the New Mexico State Veterans' Home.

  • The Annex Building: 59 beds in 5 units, including secure units to support memory care needs, with private rooms and private bathrooms.
  • Six new houses: 12 residents per house, designed to create a homelike environment and promote independence, with private rooms, private bathrooms, and rooms available for couples who wish to live together.

If your parent has dementia and wanders, ask about the secure Annex units first. If your parents want to stay together, ask about a couples room in one of the new houses, because the presentation says those rooms are available, not guaranteed.

Who Can Live at the New Mexico State Veterans' Home

The New Mexico Department of Health lists four groups as eligible for the New Mexico State Veterans' Home:

  • honorably discharged veterans with 90 days or more of service;
  • their spouses;
  • Gold Star Parents, who have lost children in the service of their country;
  • certain members of a reserve component of the U.S. Armed Forces who meet the legal residence requirements.

Living outside New Mexico doesn't rule your parent out of the New Mexico State Veterans' Home. The Department of Health says the New Mexico State Veterans' Home gives New Mexico residents preference when there is a waiting list, that every veteran is welcome to apply, and that the home is not restricted to New Mexico veterans. The state rule for the home, 7.25.10 NMAC, says the same thing from the other side: New Mexico veterans get preference, and veterans of other states are admitted when there are vacant beds, provided they were separated with an honorable discharge.

The Department of Health also lists who is not eligible for the New Mexico State Veterans' Home:

  • a person whose only separation from the U.S. Armed Forces was other than honorable;
  • a person ordered to report to an induction station who was never actually inducted;
  • a person convicted of subversive activities against the U.S. after September 1, 1959, unless a presidential pardon is granted;
  • a person with medical or mental conditions beyond the home's capability to care for them;
  • a person with a history of violent crime, substance abuse or sexual offenses, or who is currently charged with one of these.

The "beyond the home's capability" line is the one to raise early if your parent needs specialized medical care, because the New Mexico State Veterans' Home decides what it can safely provide.

You may find an older text in the New Mexico Administrative Code with a wartime-service and New Mexico-residency test. The New Mexico Department of Health's current eligibility list for the New Mexico State Veterans' Home doesn't include the older wartime-service or New Mexico-residency requirements, so ask the admissions office rather than ruling your parent out on the older wording.

At Fort Bayard, the National Association of State Veterans Homes describes the Fort Bayard State Veterans Home as specific to honorably discharged veterans with 90 days or more of service, their spouses, and Gold Star Parents. Fort Bayard admits a person only when the facility can adequately meet the person's nursing and medical needs, and the severity of a medical, psychological or nursing condition may be cause for non-acceptance.

What the New Mexico State Veterans' Home Costs

Neither the Department of Health's page nor the home's 2025 presentation publishes a dollar amount for the New Mexico State Veterans' Home, so we don't print one. What the sources do lay out is how the bill is built.

  • Your parent's income sets the charge. The Department of Health says the maintenance charge at the New Mexico State Veterans' Home is the full amount charged to the resident based on the resident's income and resources, and the home's presentation says monthly payments are determined from income and assets.
  • The financial office looks before admission. The home's presentation says its financial office reviews the required admission documents to determine financial responsibility before admission, and the Department of Health says the Admission Coordinator completes a payment contract on admission based on the resident's ability to pay.
  • Medicaid changes the formula. If a resident becomes a Medicaid recipient, the Department of Health says the maintenance fee at the New Mexico State Veterans' Home becomes the same as the Medical Care Credit; for a resident not on Medicaid, the fee is set by regulation using Medicaid guidelines to the extent possible.

New Mexico's rule for the home, 7.25.10 NMAC, adds protections a family should know about, along with one obligation:

  • A ceiling. The care and maintenance charge may not exceed three times the per diem VA pays for the type of care provided.
  • VA benefits come first. Charges are computed to maximize the VA pension and compensation benefits the veteran is entitled to, so a veteran who hasn't claimed them should.
  • Money can't keep your parent out. A resident's ability or inability to pay the established rates must not count against admission.
  • Hardship relief exists. A resident or guardian may seek a reduction or waiver of the charges for financial hardship.
  • The clock starts on day one. Charges begin on the first day of admission, and a resident on leave for outside hospitalization or medical care isn't charged after the fourth day away.

The obligation is the hard part, and it is a lot to take in when you don't yet know the monthly figure. Under 7.25.10 NMAC, the state's claim for the resident's care and treatment is a valid debt against the resident and the resident's estate, isn't barred by any statute of limitations, and at the resident's death must be paid like any other lawful claim against the estate. You can protect your family by asking for the payment contract figure in writing before admission, asking about the hardship waiver if the charge is out of reach, and, if your parent owns a house, talking to an elder law attorney before signing. Read our guide to New Mexico Medicaid estate recovery if Medicaid will also be paying.

VA money helps pay the home's side. Under VA's State Veterans Home per diem, VA pays the state for each eligible veteran at the lesser of one-half of the daily cost of care or the basic per diem rate VA sets each fiscal year. VA does not pay a State Veterans Home for the care of non-veterans, so a spouse or Gold Star Parent at the New Mexico State Veterans' Home is billed without VA per diem behind the charge.

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 in one of those three groups, VA's payment to the 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 home may not charge the veteran, an insurer or anyone other than VA for the care VA paid for.

The New Mexico State Veterans' Home's 2025 presentation states it more briefly: VA covers the cost for veterans with a service-connected disability of 70% or higher. The federal rule limits that full payment to a veteran who needs nursing home care, and it also reaches a veteran who needs the care for a service-connected condition at a lower rating, and a veteran rated TDIU, so bring your parent's current VA rating letter and ask the New Mexico State Veterans' Home financial office to confirm in writing how it will bill VA under 38 CFR 51.41.

If your parent's rating isn't settled yet, a VA disability compensation claim is worth pursuing now. Our VA long-term care copays guide explains which veterans pay nothing for VA's own nursing home care.

Medicaid and a VA Pension at a New Mexico Veterans Home

New Mexico Medicaid is an accepted payer at both New Mexico veterans homes. The New Mexico State Veterans' Home's presentation lists Medicaid, Medicare and private pay as accepted, and Fort Bayard lists traditional Medicare, Medicare Advantage, New Mexico Medicaid, Veterans Benefits and commercial plans., Medicare Part A covers skilled nursing facility care only on a short-term, post-acute basis, not long-term custodial care. Our guide to New Mexico Medicaid and nursing home care explains the Medicaid route.

A veteran on a VA pension with Aid and Attendance should know one federal rule. Under 38 U.S.C. 5503(d), a veteran with no spouse or child whose Medicaid-covered nursing facility care has begun keeps no more than $90 a month of VA pension, but the statute's definition of a nursing facility leaves out a State home for which VA pays per diem for nursing home care under 38 U.S.C. 1741(a). Ask the New Mexico State Veterans' Home financial office whether VA pays the home per diem for nursing home care under 38 U.S.C. 1741(a), because 38 U.S.C. 5503(d) leaves such a State home outside the $90 cap, and confirm with VA how the pension rule applies to your parent. Our guide to Aid and Attendance for a nursing home in New Mexico walks through the pension itself.

How to Apply

The Department of Health asks families to check the eligibility list and then fill out the Admission Application for the New Mexico State Veterans' Home. The steps below follow the Department's page, the home's presentation and the state rule, 7.25.10 NMAC.

1
Step 1

Call the home first

Reach the New Mexico State Veterans' Home at 575-894-4200 (toll-free 800-964-3976), or Fort Bayard at 575-537-8900 (toll-free 800-541-6966), and ask for the current Admission Application.,

2
Step 2

Complete the application

Under 7.25.10 NMAC, an applicant to the New Mexico State Veterans' Home needs an approved application establishing eligibility, an agreement for payment of fees where applicable, and a physical examination by a physician licensed to practice in New Mexico.

3
Step 3

Send the financial documents

The home's presentation says its financial office reviews the required admission documents to determine financial responsibility before admission.

4
Step 4

Committee review

Under 7.25.10 NMAC, an admissions committee of the administrator, medical director, director of nurses, social worker and medical records administrator decides eligibility and whether admission is appropriate, and applicants are promptly notified.

5
Step 5

Bed offer or waiting list

If your parent is approved and a bed is open, the home invites your parent for admission; if no bed is open, 7.25.10 NMAC says the applicant goes on a waiting list and is told in writing how long the delay is expected to be.

None of our sources gives a current waiting time for either New Mexico home, so ask when you call, and keep the written notice of the expected delay if your parent is placed on the New Mexico State Veterans' Home waiting list.

If a New Mexico Veterans Home Isn't the Right Fit

VA runs its own nursing homes, called Community Living Centers, and VA eligibility for that care turns on service-connected status, level of disability and income. VA also contracts with private Community Nursing Homes near veterans' homes and families, and pays for that care only when the veteran meets those same kinds of criteria. Our guide to VA nursing home care compares the options.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does a veteran need a service-connected rating to get into the New Mexico State Veterans' Home?

No. The Department of Health's eligibility list for the New Mexico State Veterans' Home asks for an honorable discharge and 90 days or more of service, and a VA disability rating isn't on it. The rating matters for the bill instead: under 38 U.S.C. 1745 and 38 CFR 51.41, for a veteran who needs nursing home care, a rating of 70% or more, TDIU, or a service-connected reason for that care can make VA's payment the whole payment for it.

My father's VA rating came through after he moved in. Can the bill be fixed for the months already paid?

Possibly. Under 38 CFR 51.41, if a veteran receives a retroactive VA service-connected rating that brings him within the payment-in-full rules, the State Veterans Home may ask VA for payment under its State home care agreement back to the rating's retroactive effective date or February 2, 2013, whichever is later. Send the new rating decision to the New Mexico State Veterans' Home financial office as soon as it arrives.

Can my mother live at the New Mexico State Veterans' Home without my father?

Yes, if she is the spouse of an honorably discharged veteran with 90 days or more of service, since the Department of Health lists spouses as eligible in their own right. Her bill works differently from a veteran's, because VA doesn't pay a State Veterans Home for a non-veteran's care. Her charge still follows her income and resources, and Medicaid is an accepted payer.

Is Fort Bayard only for veterans?

Not the whole facility. The Department of Health says Fort Bayard Medical Center's admission policies apply to all residents regardless of veteran status or payment source, while the National Association of State Veterans Homes describes the Fort Bayard State Veterans Home portion as specific to honorably discharged veterans, their spouses and Gold Star Parents. A non-veteran parent may be able to live at Fort Bayard Medical Center outside its Veterans Home, so ask the Fort Bayard admissions office which setting fits.

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 New MexicoA complete guide to VA senior care benefits in New Mexico: home care, nursing homes, Aid and Attendance, and the state veterans home, updated for 2026. VA BenefitsHow VA Aid and Attendance Helps Pay for a Nursing Home in New MexicoHow VA Aid and Attendance helps pay for a nursing home in New Mexico in 2026: 2026 rates, who qualifies, the $90 Medicaid cap, and how to apply with free help. MedicaidNew Mexico Medicaid and Nursing Home CareHow New Mexico Medicaid nursing home coverage works in 2026: Turquoise Care eligibility, the asset limit, the income cap and Miller Trust, and estate recovery. VA BenefitsVA Nursing Homes and Community Living CentersVA 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.

Find personalized help choosing and applying to a veterans home in New Mexico 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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