Utah State Veterans Nursing Homes

Utah runs more state veterans homes than most states its size, and the cost answer turns almost entirely on one number: 70 percent. Where they are. The Department of Veterans and Military Affairs lists four: the William E. Christoffersen Salt Lake Veterans Home at 700 South Foothill Drive, Salt Lake City; the George E. Wahlen Ogden Veterans Home at 1102 North 1200 West, Ogden; the Mervyn Sharp Bennion Veterans Home at 1551 North Main Street, Payson; and the Southern Utah Veterans Home at 160 North 200 East, Ivins. The department states that all four carry a high rating from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Who runs them. Section 71A-6-102, subsection 1: "The department shall be responsible for the administration and operation of state veterans nursing homes established by the Legislature, which may include contracting with a private health care provider to operate and manage each home." The department confirms that day-to-day operations are provided by a contracted private healthcare provider. So the state owns the programme and a contractor runs the building, which is worth knowing when you are deciding whom to raise a concern with. What the buildings must be. Subsection 2: each home shall "(a) have at least an 80-bed capacity; (b) be designed and constructed consistent with the requirements for federal funding under 38 U.S.C. Sec. 8131 et seq.; and (c) be operated consistent with the requirements for per diem payments from the VA under 38 U.S.C. Sec. 1741 et seq." The third condition is the one that decides your bill, because it is what brings the federal per diem into play. Who may be admitted. Section 71A-6-104, subsection 2: "Veterans and their spouses or surviving spouses who are residents of Utah or who demonstrate intent to establish residency in Utah within six months of applying for admission, meet federal eligibility requirements, and are in need of nursing home care may be admitted to any home." Note the residency alternative. You do not have to be a Utah resident when you apply; demonstrating an intent to establish residency within six months is enough. That is unusually accommodating and it is how an out-of-state family can move a parent to a Utah home near them. The department adds Gold Star parents to the admissible class, and describes the general service test as having "served on active duty or deployed while serving in the reserves". The statute itself says only "meet federal eligibility requirements", so the reserve gloss is administrative; if a reserve member's service does not fit it, ask which federal requirement is being applied. Apply to each home separately. Section 71A-6-104, subsection 1: "Application for admission shall be made separately to each nursing home administrator." There is no central waiting list. If you are flexible about location, apply to more than one. Who gets priority. Subsection 3: "Preference shall be given to veterans who are without adequate means of support and unable, due to wounds, disease, old age, or infirmity, to properly maintain themselves." Means and incapacity move you up, they are not conditions of admission. What it costs, and the 70 percent line. The Department of Veterans and Military Affairs states it plainly: "There is no cost for Veterans with a 70 percent or higher service-connected disability (SCD). For Veterans with no SCD or an SCD that is less than 70 percent, the VA subsidizes the cost with a per diem of approximately $120 a day." That is the federal enhanced per diem under 38 U.S.C. section 1745, which pays a state home the full cost of care for a veteran with a service-connected disability rated 70 percent or more, or who needs nursing home care because of a service-connected disability. Below that threshold the VA basic per diem of roughly $120 a day is a contribution, and the difference between that and the cost of care is the resident's responsibility. So the practical advice is blunt: if you are near 70 percent, the difference between 60 and 70 is the difference between paying for nursing home care and not paying for it. Establish the rating before you need the bed. Spouses and Gold Star parents pay. The department: "Spouses of Veterans and Gold Star Parents are also eligible for admission, however the cost of care is not covered or subsidized by the VA." Federal per diem does not follow a non-veteran, so a couple moving in together should expect to pay for one of them. There is no statutory rate. Section 71A-6-103, subsection 1, paragraph (b) requires the department, subject to the executive director's approval, to "establish a schedule of charges for each home in cases where residents have available resources". The schedule is administrative and set per home, so no figure in this catalog would be reliable. Ask the individual home for its current schedule. Paragraph (a) likewise leaves admission and discharge criteria to the department "subject to the requirements in Section 71A-6-104 and criteria set by the VA", and paragraph (e) requires each home to be licensed under Title 26B, Chapter 2, Part 2 and 38 U.S.C. section 1742(a). Where money goes. Section 71A-6-106 creates the Utah State Veterans Nursing Home Fund as an expendable special revenue fund. All cash donations, gifts and bequests go in and are "used according to the wishes of the donor". All funds received by the homes from federal or state agencies, individual insurance reimbursement or cash payments go in. Money designated for a specific home is accounted for separately within the fund. What happens to a resident's property on death, which families should read in advance. Section 71A-6-107, subsection 1: money or other personal property of a resident held by a home and left on the premises "shall, upon the death of the resident, be held in trust to be paid or delivered to the spouse, children, grandchildren, or parent of the resident upon the presentation of proof of relationship", and any funds "may be disbursed for the payment of funeral expenses or any obligation owed to the home." Subsection 2 is the one to note: property of a deceased resident "who dies without heirs or next-of-kin not disposed of by will shall become the property of the home and deposited in the fund, subject to the right of any heir to reclaim the property within five years after the resident's death upon the presentation of proof of relationship." Five years to claim, then it is the home's. Residents have a voice. Section 71A-6-105 requires each home to have an advisory board of seven to eleven members appointed by the executive director, including one appointee of the home's Resident Council, three veterans from the home's geographic area, a medical professional experienced in veteran nursing home quality of care, three at-large members, and one member each from the American Legion, Disabled American Veterans and the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Four-year staggered terms, a two-consecutive-term limit, meetings at least quarterly, and minutes to the department within 14 days of approval. That board is the route for a concern that the contractor will not resolve. Section 71A-6-108 lets the homes promote hobbies and sell articles residents make, with the proceeds going to the residents.