Washington State Veterans Homes: Cost, Eligibility, How to Apply

A Washington State Veterans Home can cost a veteran nothing, a posted daily room rate, or a Medicaid share of income, depending on the veteran's VA rating and savings.1 For a private-pay resident, the Washington State Veterans Homes' posted daily room rate for skilled/long-term nursing care is $420 for a semi-private room and $442 for a private room, effective July 1, 2025.2

Maybe the hospital has told you your father can't go home safely, or your mother has been caring for him until her own health gave out. Washington's four state veterans homes, in Orting, Port Orchard, Spokane and Walla Walla, are run by the Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs (WDVA). WDVA admits veterans to its four homes, and a spouse of a resident, the widow of an eligible veteran, or a Gold Star Parent may also qualify.3 What your family would actually pay turns on your parent's VA rating, income and savings, and WDVA's own admission packet spells that out.

In This Guide

• Key Takeaways
• What a State Veterans Home Is
• Washington's Four State Veterans Homes
• Who Can Get Into a Washington State Veterans Home?
• What Does a Washington State Veterans Home Cost?
• When VA Pays the Whole Bill
• When Savings Run Low: Medicaid in a Washington Veterans Home
• How to Apply, Step by Step
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Learn More

What a State Veterans Home Is

It helps to know who actually runs the building before you call. State Veterans Homes are owned, operated and managed by state governments, not by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. VA formally recognizes each State Veterans Home, surveys it every year, and can pay the state toward a veteran's care, but each state sets its own eligibility and admission rules, the cost to the resident varies by state, and VA does not pay for the care of non-veterans.5

In Washington, the state agency running the homes is WDVA, and all four of WDVA's homes are Medicare- and Medicaid-certified.3 For the rest of the VA help open to an aging Washington veteran, from home care to the VA's own nursing homes, see our guide to VA senior care benefits in Washington. For how state homes work nationally, see how State Veterans Homes work.

Washington's Four State Veterans Homes

All four Washington State Veterans Homes provide 24-hour nursing care, medical care and pharmacy services, with supportive services such as physical therapy, occupational therapy, hospice, social services and recreational activities.3 WDVA's FAQ lists three kinds of stay at its homes: short-term Medicare Part A rehabilitative care, long-term nursing care, and end-of-life care including hospice.6

The addresses and bed counts above are the ones WDVA publishes on its Veterans Homes page.3 If your parent lives with dementia, ask the admissions office of the home you're considering how it cares for residents with memory loss.

Who Can Get Into a Washington State Veterans Home?

Washington's admission rules are broader than many families expect. To be eligible for admission to a Washington State Veterans Home, an applicant must have served at any time, in any branch of the U.S. Armed Forces including the National Guard, and must live in Washington State.3 The applicant must also have received an honorable discharge, or already be eligible for federal VA monetary benefits, or have been separated with a less than honorable characterization of service due solely to sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.3

Family members can qualify too. WDVA says a spouse of a resident, the widow of an eligible veteran, or a Gold Star Parent who lost a child while serving in the armed forces may also qualify for admission.3 Keep in mind that VA does not pay for the care of non-veterans in any State Veterans Home.5 A spouse's or Gold Star Parent's stay would be paid another way, and WDVA's homes accept Medicare, Medicaid, third-party insurance and private pay.3

What Does a Washington State Veterans Home Cost?

A daily private-pay rate adds up fast when it comes out of a parent's savings, and it is easy to look at the number and assume the worst. Take a breath: the private rate is only one of four ways a stay gets paid. WDVA publishes the dollar figures for its homes in its admission packet.2 WDVA says the daily room rate at the Washington State Veterans Homes is reviewed annually and can change with 60 days' advance notice, and WDVA's covered-items document, revised August 1, 2026, still gives July 1, 2025 as the rate's effective date.2 Some veterans who need nursing home care pay $0 a day under VA's Enhanced Per Diem program, and a Medicaid resident pays a monthly share of income instead of the daily rate.1

Who pays what depends on which program covers the stay:

The private-pay and Medicaid rows come from WDVA's admission packet and covered-items document.2,1 For the Medicare row, Medicare Part A covers skilled nursing facility care only short-term after a qualifying hospital stay: days 21 through 100 carry a daily coinsurance of $217 in 2026, and after day 100 Medicare pays nothing and does not cover long-term custodial care.7 WDVA's packet makes the same point for its homes: Medicare requires a daily coinsurance beginning on day 21 of a qualifying Medicare stay.2 Our guide to Medicare skilled nursing facility costs covers the 100-day benefit in detail.

Plan for the first bill before move-in day. At Washington's state veterans homes, the first month's payment is the number of days the resident will live there that month times the daily rate, billed from move-in day through the end of the month, and that first payment is due on the day the resident moves in.2

When VA Pays the Whole Bill

For some veterans, the family owes nothing for the nursing home care. Under 38 U.S.C. 1745 and VA's regulation at 38 CFR 51.41, VA's payment to a State Veterans Home is payment in full for the nursing home care of a veteran who needs that care for a VA-adjudicated service-connected disability, a veteran with a service-connected disability rated 70% or more, or (under 38 CFR 51.41) a veteran rated totally disabled based on individual unemployability (TDIU) who needs nursing home care. Under a State home care agreement, a State Veterans Home may not charge any individual, insurer or entity other than VA for the nursing home care VA pays for.4

WDVA's own rules match, and all four Washington homes provide nursing-level 24-hour care.6 WDVA's covered-items document lists a $0 daily rate at the Washington State Veterans Homes, under VA's State Veterans Home Enhanced Per Diem Grant program, for a veteran needing nursing home care for a VA-adjudicated service-connected disability, a veteran rated 70% or more, or a veteran rated unemployable (TDIU).1 A Washington veteran rated below 70%, say at 50%, gets the $0 rate at a Washington home only if rated TDIU or if a service-connected disability is the reason nursing care is needed.1,3

For every other eligible veteran, VA's help goes to the state rather than to your family. VA pays a State Veterans Home a basic per diem for an eligible veteran's care at the lesser of half the daily cost of care or VA's basic per diem rate, and that payment goes to the state.4 That's why a Washington veteran below the 70% line, not rated TDIU and not there for a service-connected condition, still pays the daily rate or a Medicaid share.

When Savings Run Low: Medicaid in a Washington Veterans Home

This is the part many families dread, so it's worth knowing the rules before the money gets tight. WDVA's admission application tells applicants that Washington state law, RCW 72.36.030, requires every applicant for admission to a state veterans' home to apply for all federal and state benefits, including medical assistance under chapter 74.09 RCW. WDVA says that means Medicare Parts A, B and D, Medicaid, Social Security, and federal VA benefits such as compensation, VA pension and Aid and Attendance.1

WDVA's application also says that, once a resident is admitted to a WDVA home, all income regardless of source counts toward the cost of care, except for a veteran with a qualifying service-connected disability.1 WDVA's FAQ adds that a resident who can't pay the daily room rate must agree to apply for Medicaid and other appropriate benefits, and that a resident may pay the daily room rate until savings are spent down to the level of Medicaid eligibility.1

Once Washington Medicaid (Apple Health) is paying, a resident's monthly share at a WDVA home is set by the local community services office of the Washington Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) as monthly income minus allowable expenses minus a personal needs allowance.1 WDVA says the current personal needs allowance at WDVA's homes is up to $160 a month depending on income. DSHS recalculates a Medicaid resident's share whenever monthly income changes, and a Medicaid resident must report all income and resources every year and within 14 days of any change in income or a lump-sum payment.1 While a Medicaid application is still pending, WDVA requires the resident to pay an estimated participation based on monthly income.1

Aid and Attendance and Apple Health interact in ways that change what a resident owes, and our guide to using Aid and Attendance toward a Washington nursing home walks through how Washington counts a VA pension.

How to Apply, Step by Step

You don't need everything settled before the first call. Start with the phone, then build the packet.

These are the admissions lines WDVA lists on its Admission Application page.6

Learn More

Find personalized help choosing a Washington veterans home and getting the application packet together 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.