New York State Veterans Homes: Who Qualifies, Cost, How to Apply

For some veterans who need nursing home care, VA pays a New York State Veterans Home in full, and a home with a VA State home care agreement can't bill the family for that care.1 New York has five State Veterans Homes: four run by the New York State Department of Health in Oxford, Batavia, Montrose, and Saint Albans, and the Long Island State Veterans Home, run by the State University of New York at Stony Brook.2 If a veteran parent now needs skilled nursing care, New York's rules reach further than many families expect, covering spouses, widows, and Gold Star parents too.3 For every resident VA doesn't pay for in full, the bill is the part that deserves a careful look.

In This Guide

• How State Veterans Homes Work
• New York's Five State Veterans Homes at a Glance
• Who Can Live in a New York State Veterans Home?
• What a New York State Veterans Home Costs
• How to Apply
• Frequently Asked Questions

How State Veterans Homes Work

It helps to know who's in charge before you pick up the phone. According to VA's State Veterans Home program, a State Veterans Home is owned, operated, and managed by a state government, not by VA. VA certifies each home and surveys it every year, and each state sets the eligibility and admission rules for its own homes.4 That's why the answers in this guide come from New York law and New York's own agencies. For the national picture, see our guide to State Veterans Homes.

New York's Five State Veterans Homes at a Glance

Each home has its own admissions office, and each describes its own specialties. The New York State Department of Veterans' Services tells families to contact the homes directly for admissions information.2

Sources for the table: each home's own website, the New York State Department of Veterans' Services, and the Long Island State Veterans Home fact sheet effective April 1, 2026.2

If your parent has dementia, two New York State Veterans Homes describe dedicated units: Batavia, whose Erie Cottage serves people with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias, and the Long Island State Veterans Home, whose fact sheet lists a 30-bed Alzheimer's unit.2 Whichever home you're considering, including Oxford, Montrose, and St. Albans, ask its admissions office how it cares for residents with memory loss.

Who Can Live in a New York State Veterans Home?

New York limits admission to its State Veterans Homes to veterans and their dependents, under rules set by New York Public Health Law §2632.3 Every applicant, veteran or family member, must need skilled nursing care, and the New York State Department of Health reviews each application to decide whether the applicant needs the services the home provides.3

Veterans

A veteran qualifies for a New York State Veterans Home, once the home's board of visitors approves the application, if the veteran (New York Public Health Law §2632(1)):3

• Served at least thirty days of active duty, and
• Was separated or discharged under honorable conditions, or has a qualifying condition or is a discharged LGBT veteran (as defined in New York's Veterans' Services Law) with a discharge other than bad conduct or dishonorable, and
• Was a New York resident when entering active duty, or has lived in New York for the six months before applying.

One detail can cause confusion. For New York State Veterans Homes, the New York State Department of Health's admission policy page states the residency requirement as one year in New York before applying, while New York Public Health Law §2632 says six months.3 If your parent moved to New York recently, ask the admissions office which period it applies before you rule a home out.

Spouses, widows, and Gold Star parents

This is where New York's homes can help a whole family:

• Spouses. A spouse of an eligible veteran, unless legally separated, may be admitted to a New York State Veterans Home if the spouse needs skilled nursing care, and the couple must have been married at least one year before the application date (New York Public Health Law §2632(4)).3
• After the veteran dies. The New York State Department of Health says a spouse may keep living in the home after the veteran's death if he or she still needs skilled nursing care.3
• Unremarried surviving spouses. An unremarried surviving spouse can apply to a New York State Veterans Home, with the same one-year marriage requirement.3
• Gold Star parents. The mother or father of a service member who died on active duty is entitled to admission to a New York State Veterans Home regardless of how long the service member served (New York Public Health Law §2632(2)).3

Who gets a bed first

When a New York State Veterans Home has a wait for beds, New York Public Health Law §2632(5) sets the order: first, veterans who come with their spouse; next, wartime and campaign-medal veterans; then other eligible veterans; then spouses and unremarried surviving spouses; and last, mothers and fathers. Within each group, the home goes by severity of illness or disability and need for care.3

What a New York State Veterans Home Costs

This is the question most families worry about, and New York's answer depends on your parent's VA rating.

If VA pays the home in full

Under federal law, 38 U.S.C. 1745, VA's payment to a State Veterans Home is payment in full for nursing home care given to a veteran who:1

• Needs nursing home care for a service-connected disability, at any rating, or
• Has a service-connected disability rated 70% or more and needs nursing home care.1

VA's regulation at 38 CFR 51.41 also treats VA's payment to a State Veterans Home as payment in full for a veteran rated totally disabled based on individual unemployability (TDIU) who needs nursing home care.1

If a New York State Veterans Home has a State home care agreement with VA, it can't charge your parent, your family, or an insurer for the nursing home care VA pays for, so ask the home whether it has one.1 If VA grants a qualifying rating after your parent moves in, 38 CFR 51.41 lets the State Veterans Home request VA payment back to the rating's effective date or February 2, 2013, whichever is later.1

Everyone else

If your parent isn't in one of those groups, plan on your parent's income and savings being part of the picture. A New York State Veterans Home asks each applicant to certify all property and sources of income, and the resident pays, from that income or property, whatever the New York State Department of Health decides is reasonable for the care (New York Public Health Law §2632(7)).3 Ask for that amount in writing before you commit.

VA helps with part of the cost. For an eligible veteran, VA pays New York a basic per diem at the lesser of half the daily cost of care or VA's per diem rate for the year, and federal law caps that payment at half the cost of the veteran's care.1 VA doesn't pay for the care of non-veterans in State Veterans Homes, so a spouse's or Gold Star parent's care is paid another way.4

The New York State Department of Health says its State Veterans Homes are certified for Medicare and Medicaid.3 Ask the admissions office whether Medicaid could cover some of your parent's bill, and whether VA Aid and Attendance could help. Our guides to New York Medicaid for nursing home care and Aid and Attendance for a nursing home in New York explain those two routes.

How to Apply

A clear process makes this easier, and you don't need to do it all at once:

1. Find your parent's discharge papers and VA rating letter. The VA rating decides whether VA pays the home in full, and the discharge decides eligibility.1,3
2. Call the admissions office of each home you're considering. The phone numbers are in the table above.2
3. Complete the application. The New York State Department of Health's application for admission can be downloaded, filled in, and mailed to the home of choice.3 The Long Island State Veterans Home uses its own application and checklist.2
4. Gather the documents. The Long Island home's checklist asks for a copy of the veteran's discharge papers or other proof of VA status, copies of insurance cards, copies of legal documents such as a power of attorney or health care proxy, and the Patient Review Instrument (PRI) and Screen.2
5. Wait for approval. The home's board of visitors approves each application to a New York State Veterans Home.3

For help with the VA side, including a rating claim, our guide to VA benefits you can use for senior care in New York lists free places to get help.

Learn More

Find personalized help choosing long-term care for a veteran parent in New York by chatting with Brevy's care navigator 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.