Long-Term Care for District Veterans Without a State Veterans Home

There is no state veterans home in the District of Columbia, and nothing in the D.C. Code provides for one. The Code's only provisions on the subject let a court commit a person with mental illness to VA care, D.C. Code 21-587 and 21-908. The federal home in the District. The Armed Forces Retirement Home's Washington campus, the old Soldiers' Home, is a federal retirement community with independent living, assisted living, long-term nursing care and memory support. Eligibility is set by 24 U.S.C. 412, not by residence. An applicant must have served at least half of their service as enlisted, a warrant officer or a limited duty officer, and meet one of: 20 or more years of active service; a service-connected disability incurred in the line of duty; service in a war theater or eligibility for hostile fire pay and injuries, disease or disability; service in a women's component before June 12, 1948 with compelling circumstances; or eligibility for military retired pay under chapter 1223 of title 10, the reserve retirement, with VA care, TRICARE or an acceptable qualified health plan. A felony conviction or a discharge under other than honorable conditions bars admission, and residents must be able to live independently when admitted. The monthly fee is a percentage of income under 24 U.S.C. 414, the same at both campuses and capped. A spouse who is a military dependent in DEERS may be admitted too. What it is not. A retired officer who served mostly commissioned, and a veteran with a short period of peacetime service and no service-connected disability, is not eligible. For them the options are VA's own nursing care or a private facility. VA nursing care. VA itself must provide needed nursing home care to a veteran who needs it for a service-connected disability or who is rated 70 percent or more, under 38 U.S.C. 1710A, and may provide it to others as resources allow. For a District veteran that is the main public route into long-term nursing care. Maryland's home. Charlotte Hall Veterans Home in St. Mary's County admits veterans with documented Maryland residence: 90 days before admission to the nursing home, two years before a state-subsidized assisted living place, or a Maryland home of record or permanent address on the DD-214, under COMAR 35.04.01.02. A District resident is not eligible unless the DD-214 shows a Maryland address. Virginia's veterans care centers have their own residency rules. Help choosing. The Mayor's Office of Veterans Affairs helps with the VA applications.