Pennsylvania Veterans Homes: Who Can Apply, Costs, How to Apply

Pennsylvania runs six veterans homes, from Philadelphia to Erie, and only three of them offer all four levels of care the state lists.1 If you're weighing a Pennsylvania veterans home for a parent or a spouse, start with which home offers the care they need today, then check whether they can apply and how VA pays State Veterans Homes.1,2

In This Guide

• Pennsylvania's Six Veterans Homes at a Glance
• What Makes It a State Veterans Home
• Who Can Apply to a Pennsylvania Veterans Home
• What a Pennsylvania Veterans Home Costs and How VA Helps Pay
• How to Apply to a Pennsylvania Veterans Home, Step by Step
• Matching Your Veteran to the Right Home
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Learn More

Pennsylvania's Six Veterans Homes at a Glance

Most families start by looking for the home closest to them, and that's a natural place to begin. But before you fall in love with the nearest one, check the last column below. The Pennsylvania State Veterans Homes are operated by DMVA, and DMVA's own table shows the levels of care are not the same at every home.1

Addresses, phone numbers and care levels in the table come from DMVA's pages for each Pennsylvania veterans home.1 If you'd rather talk to one office about all six, DMVA's Bureau of Veterans Homes takes calls at 1-800-547-2838 and email at RA-MVVA-HOMES@pa.gov.1

What Makes It a State Veterans Home

It's easy to assume a veterans home is part of VA. It isn't. Under VA's State Veterans Home program, these homes are owned, operated and managed by state governments, and VA certifies each one and surveys it every year to make sure it still meets VA standards.2

Two things follow from that. First, under VA's program each state sets its own eligibility and admission rules, which is why Pennsylvania's rules below matter more than anything you read about another state.2 Second, according to VA's State Veterans Home program page, a recognized State Veterans Home may receive VA payments that help defray the cost of veterans' care, and the cost to the resident varies by state.2

Who Can Apply to a Pennsylvania Veterans Home

If your veteran has lived in Pennsylvania for years, this part is usually simple. Where families get tripped up is a parent who retired to another state, or a spouse who isn't a veteran.

DMVA puts the threshold plainly: "You can only apply to a Pennsylvania Veterans Home if you are a resident of Pennsylvania or if you joined the military while living in Pennsylvania."1 Pennsylvania's regulation for its State Veterans Homes, 43 Pa. Code § 7.3(a), spells out the rest:

• Who: an eligible veteran, or the spouse or surviving spouse of an eligible veteran.1
• Residency: the applicant must be a bona fide Pennsylvania resident when applying, with one exception for out-of-state veterans.1
• The out-of-state route: under § 7.3(a), a veteran living in another state may apply if Pennsylvania was their home of record when they entered active duty or Pennsylvania's military forces, but that veteran may not be admitted while a bona fide Pennsylvania resident is waiting for a bed.1
• Approval: the admissions committee at the home has to approve the applicant.1

43 Pa. Code § 7.3(a) also requires that an applicant to a Pennsylvania State Veterans Home be incapable of self-support and show a financial need for admission, and it lists applicants who are not eligible.1 Those details are worth a direct conversation with the Bureau of Veterans Homes before you apply, especially if your veteran's income is on the higher side.

What a Pennsylvania Veterans Home Costs and How VA Helps Pay

Money is usually the question behind every other question, and it's okay to ask it first. Here's what the federal rules for State Veterans Homes say, and where Pennsylvania's own charge comes in.

If your veteran has a qualifying service-connected rating. Under 38 U.S.C. 1745(a) and VA's regulation at 38 CFR 51.41, VA's payment for nursing home care in a State Veterans Home is payment in full for a veteran who needs that care and is rated 70% or more service-connected, has a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU), or needs it for a service-connected disability, and the State home may not charge the veteran, an insurer or anyone other than VA for it.3 VA's State Veterans Home full-payment rule under 38 U.S.C. 1745(a) and 38 CFR 51.41 covers nursing home care, so ask how it applies before choosing a domiciliary or personal care bed at the Hollidaysburg, Erie or Spring City veterans home.3

If a VA service-connected rating comes through after your veteran has moved into a Pennsylvania veterans home, 38 CFR 51.41 lets the State home ask VA for payment back to the rating's retroactive effective date or February 2, 2013, whichever is later.3 It's one more reason to keep a pending VA disability claim moving.

For every other eligible veteran. Under VA's per diem rules for State Veterans Homes, VA pays the state a basic per diem for each day an eligible veteran is in a State home, at the lesser of half the daily cost of care or the basic per diem rate VA sets each fiscal year, and by federal statute that payment can never exceed half the cost of the veteran's care.3 VA also says it doesn't pay for the care of non-veterans in State Veterans Homes, which matters if the resident is a spouse.2

Pennsylvania's side. On its application page, DMVA tells applicants they'll be required to share financial information after they submit the application.1 This guide doesn't list what a Pennsylvania veterans home charges. Before you commit to a home, call DMVA's Bureau of Veterans Homes at 1-800-547-2838 and ask what your veteran would pay and how DMVA uses the financial information it collects.1 If you're also looking at VA Aid and Attendance for a Pennsylvania nursing home bill, see our Pennsylvania nursing home payment guide.

How to Apply to a Pennsylvania Veterans Home, Step by Step

The paperwork looks like a lot at first. It goes faster if you gather everything before you start, and most of it is sitting in a file drawer already.

Pennsylvania's regulation, 43 Pa. Code § 7.5, requires the application to be on the form DMVA prescribes, so use DMVA's current form rather than an old copy someone hands you.1

Matching Your Veteran to the Right Home

Choosing a home for someone you love can feel like a verdict on how much they've changed. It isn't. It's a match between the care they need right now and what each Pennsylvania veterans home actually offers.

• If your veteran needs round-the-clock nursing care or memory care, all six Pennsylvania homes list both, so the nearest home is a reasonable first call.1
• If your veteran needs personal care or domiciliary care, DMVA lists those levels only at Hollidaysburg, the PA Soldiers' and Sailors' Home in Erie, and Southeastern in Spring City. A family in Philadelphia, Scranton or Pittsburgh may need to look at one of those three.1
• If you're not sure which level fits, that's normal. Ask the home when you call, and bring the doctor's MA-51 and daily-living assessment into the conversation.1

For the wider picture of VA benefits your veteran can use for care in Pennsylvania, see VA benefits you can use for senior care in Pennsylvania. For how State Veterans Homes work across the country, see our national guide to state veterans homes.

Learn More

Find personalized help choosing a Pennsylvania veterans home for your family 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.