Ohio Veterans Homes: Who Qualifies, What It Costs, How to Apply

Applying to an Ohio Veterans Home costs nothing, and Ohio's admission rule sets a veteran's place on the waiting list without regard to income or ability to pay. If a doctor or discharge planner has said your dad or your husband can't safely live at home anymore, the two Ohio Veterans Homes, in Sandusky and Georgetown, are worth a close look; the Ohio Department of Veterans Services operates both.1,2

In This Guide

• Key Takeaways
• What an Ohio Veterans Home Is
• Where the Ohio Veterans Homes Are
• Does Your Veteran Qualify?
• When a Qualified Veteran Can Still Be Turned Away
• What Will an Ohio Veterans Home Cost?
• When VA Pays for Nursing Care in Full
• Why Medicare Won't Cover a Long Stay
• How to Apply, Step by Step
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Learn More

What an Ohio Veterans Home Is

Before you tour one, it helps to know who actually runs it. A State Veterans Home is owned, operated and managed by a state government, not by the VA, though the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs must formally recognize and certify the home and then surveys it every year to make sure it still meets VA standards. Each state sets its own eligibility and admission rules.4

In Ohio, the state operator is the Ohio Department of Veterans Services (ODVS). ODVS describes each of the Ohio Veterans Homes as "a state facility" it operates, and admission is governed by Ohio's own law: a rule in the Ohio Administrative Code, made under the Ohio Revised Code.1,4

So an Ohio Veterans Home is not a VA hospital or a VA nursing home. If you're weighing it against a VA Community Living Center, our guide to VA nursing home care explains what the VA itself runs, and our national guide to State Veterans Homes shows how the program works across the country.

Where the Ohio Veterans Homes Are

Where the home sits matters more than it sounds, because the home you can reach is the home you'll keep visiting. ODVS describes the Sandusky and Georgetown homes this way, and its application page tells families to apply to "the Sandusky or the Georgetown home."1,2

The Sandusky home opened in 1888 to care for Civil War veterans, and ODVS says it has been in continuous operation since. The domiciliary there is part of the Sandusky home, not a third home: Ohio Revised Code 5907.01 defines domiciliary care as shelter, food and necessary medical care "on an ambulatory self-care basis" for eligible veterans "who do not need the nursing services provided in nursing homes."1 In plain terms, the domiciliary is for a veteran who can still get around and look after himself; the nursing home units are for a veteran who can't.

Does Your Veteran Qualify?

Ohio Administrative Code Rule 5907-3-01, effective October 21, 2024, sets these conditions for admission to an Ohio Veterans Home:1

• Ohio residence: the person has had a principal place of residence in Ohio for one year.
• Discharge: the person's most recent discharge from military service was under honorable conditions.
• Service: the person served in the U.S. armed services, the Ohio National Guard or the naval militia during a war or a period of conflict as determined by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; or is an Ohio National Guard or naval militia member who lost an arm or leg or their sight, or became permanently disabled, in the line of duty and can't support themselves.
• Disability: for a wartime or conflict-period applicant, a licensed physician must find a disability "by reason of disease, wounds, or otherwise which prevents the applicant from earning their living", and a physician appointed by the Ohio Veterans Homes must confirm it.

One detail can change the answer for some families. The statute the rule is made under, Ohio Revised Code 5907.04, also names anyone awarded the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal or the Vietnam Service Medal, as an alternative to service in a period of conflict, and Ohio's entry in the National Association of State Veterans Homes directory lists that medal route too. The administrative rule's own text doesn't mention the medals.1 If your parent holds either medal but didn't serve in a recognized period of conflict, raise it with the admissions office rather than assuming a no.

When a Qualified Veteran Can Still Be Turned Away

Meeting every condition above doesn't guarantee a bed, and it's kinder to know that now than after you've applied. Paragraph (C) of Ohio's admission rule says a veteran who otherwise qualifies "will not be admitted" in two situations:1

• the home's medical director believes the home "does not provide care adequate to meet the physical, mental, or psycho-social needs of the veteran"; or
• the veteran, through one or more criminal convictions, "has demonstrated that they represent a substantial risk of harm" to residents, families, visitors, volunteers or staff.

If your parent has lived at an Ohio Veterans Home before, one more rule applies: a former resident may apply for re-admission to the same or another home, but "any unpaid assessment arrearage" from the earlier stay must be paid in full first.1

What Will an Ohio Veterans Home Cost?

If the money question is the one keeping you up at night, start with this: Ohio's admission rule says priority of admission, or a position on the waiting list, is "based upon the receipt of an approved application" and set "without regard to the income of an applicant or to his ability to pay assessed fees."1 A veteran with modest savings won't be pushed down the list for it.

That doesn't mean the stay is free. The same rule refers to "assessed fees" and to unpaid "assessment" balances, so expect the home to charge the resident, and ODVS points families who want "an estimate of what residency at one of our Homes might cost" to its Cost Assessment Calculator, linked from the ODVS Apply For Free Today page.1,2 We don't reproduce a dollar figure here; run ODVS's Cost Assessment Calculator for your parent's own situation.

Federal money can also cover part of the bill at a State Veterans Home that VA has recognized. 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 the veteran's care or the basic per diem rate VA sets each fiscal year, and by federal statute VA's per diem payments for a veteran can never exceed half the cost of that veteran's care.3 VA doesn't pay for the care of non-veterans in a State Veterans Home, and the resident's cost varies from state to state.4

If part of the bill will come from the veteran's own income, VA pension money may help. Our guide to Aid and Attendance for a nursing home in Ohio explains how that monthly benefit works alongside nursing home costs, and VA's own pages on the VA Veterans Pension and VA Aid and Attendance set out who qualifies.

When VA Pays for Nursing Care in Full

For some veterans at a State Veterans Home with a VA State home care agreement, the answer to "what will this cost us?" can be nothing for the nursing care itself. Under 38 U.S.C. 1745(a) and 38 CFR 51.41, VA contracts with State homes to pay for nursing home care provided to:3

• 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 rating of total disability based on individual unemployability (TDIU) who needs nursing home care.

Under 38 CFR 51.41, when a veteran needs nursing home care and needs it for a service-connected disability, is rated 70 percent or more, or has a TDIU rating, VA's payment to a contracted State Veterans Home is payment in full, and that home may not charge the veteran, an insurer or anyone else besides VA for the nursing home care VA paid for.3 38 U.S.C. 1745(a) is written for nursing home care, and Ohio law defines domiciliary care as care for veterans "who do not need the nursing services provided in nursing homes," so the full-payment rule speaks to Ohio's nursing units rather than the Sandusky domiciliary.1 Before you count on it, ask the Ohio Veterans Homes admissions office to confirm in writing that the Sandusky or Georgetown home has a VA State home care agreement and will bill VA for your parent's nursing care.

Two practical steps follow. First, have the veteran's current VA disability compensation rating letter in hand when you apply, because the rating is what triggers this rule. Second, if a claim is still pending, a late decision can reach back: under 38 CFR 51.41, a veteran who receives a retroactive service-connected rating that brings him within these rules lets the State home request VA payment for nursing home care back to the rating's retroactive effective date or February 2, 2013, whichever is later.3

Why Medicare Won't Cover a Long Stay

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 a long stay at an Ohio Veterans Home has to be planned around the home's assessed fees and any VA payment the veteran qualifies for.5,1 Our national guide to State Veterans Homes explains how these payers fit together.

How to Apply, Step by Step

The good news: ODVS says "There is never any fee for applying for admission."2 Here's the order that saves the most back-and-forth.

Applying early helps for a simple reason: once a veteran is approved, ODVS fills Ohio Veterans Home beds from a waiting list on a first-come, first-serve basis.2 If you can, visit the home before you apply, so you know whether it feels right for your parent.

Learn More

Find personalized help choosing and applying to an Ohio 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.