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Home Health Care for Veterans Guide
Date Updated: August 15, 2025
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Home care for veterans is medical-focused, with licensed health care professionals giving care in the veteran's home to help manage chronic conditions or recover from illness or injury. This type of care differs from in-home care for veterans, which refers to personal care and companionship services rather than medical help. Costs and services for each type of veteran home care vary by disability status, medical need, VA health care enrollment, and finances.
Key Takeaways
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If you're a veteran who wants to stay at home for as long as possible, you have options. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, or VA, has several programs that can help you maintain your independence while managing your health and well-being at home.
Discover the VA home care benefits you might be eligible for, what they cover, and how much the VA could pay.
The Difference Between Home Health Care and In-Home Care
Home health care and in-home care are both commonly referred to as home care. Each delivers support in a home setting, but they focus on different kinds of help.
Home health care involves medical services from licensed professionals, like a home health aide or registered nurse. In-home care includes nonmedical support, like companionship and transportation.
Does the VA Cover In-Home Care?
With in-home care costs reaching a median of $33.99/hour in 2025, according to CareScout’s Cost of Care Survey, many veterans want to make sure they can afford it.
Veterans' benefits through the VA cover some or all in-home care expenses for eligible veterans through the Homemaker and Home Health Aide program. In-home care for veterans might include grocery shopping, bringing them to medical appointments, and helping them bathe and get dressed. Trained aides offer care under a registered nurse's supervision.
The passing of S.141 in early 2025 also expanded VA home and community-based services for veterans, improving veteran access to flexible care, like in-home care. This bill helped programs like Veteran-Directed Care give veterans the support they need to stay in their homes. Through Veteran-Directed Care, veterans get a budget to spend on helpful services, including in-home care.
How much does the VA pay for in-home care?
The amount the VA will pay for in-home care depends on the financial information a veteran lists in VA Form 10-10EC, the application for extended care services. This form asks about the liquid and fixed assets that the veteran and their spouse own. Based on this information, the VA calculates a copay, with a maximum copay of $15/day that the veteran needs applicable services after 22 days of care.
Some veterans may also qualify for VA Aid and Attendance or Housebound benefits, which add money to a monthly VA pension to help veterans pay for in-home care. The maximum annual amount is $28,300 for a veteran with no dependents and $33,548 for those with at least one dependent spouse or child.
What Home Care Services Are Covered by the VA?
In addition to offering in-home care and assisted living benefits for veterans, the VA pays for veterans' home health care so they can remain in their homes. There are a few types of home care for veterans available, each with VA coverage:
- Skilled Home Health Care: This type of home health care offers nursing, medication administration, therapy, and patient education for veterans who want to remain at home and live far away from a VA medical center. Skilled Home Health Care may include wound care and occupational therapy, for example. The VA may charge a copay based on the veteran's disability status and finances.
- Home Based Primary Care: Veterans receiving Home Based Primary Care can get medical assistance in their homes for chronic conditions or illnesses. Primary care visits, nutrition education, rehabilitation, and social work fall under this program. Copays are based on the veteran's financial information included on VA Form 10-10EC and generally cost up to $15 per day for primary care.
Home Respite Care: The VA also covers home-based respite care for caregivers who need to take time off from their caregiving duties. Through this program, a home health professional visits the veteran's home during the day while the caregiver is away. Overnight Home Respite Care may be available in some cases. The VA website says veterans may have a copay of up to $15/day for daytime respite care or up to $97 per day for overnight respite care, depending on their financial situation.
Who Is Eligible for In-Home Care From the VA?
To be eligible for home care services through the VA, you must qualify for VA community care services, which requires you to have or be eligible for VA health care. The same is true for at-home skilled nursing care. However, Home Based Primary Care is only available to those already enrolled in VA health care. You must also meet the clinical criteria for each service.
Can a veteran’s spouse receive home care benefits from the VA?
In some cases, yes, the VA will cover home care benefits for a veteran's spouse. The VA will typically only cover a spouse's medical care at home through its health care programs, however.
The Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs, or CHAMPVA, is a cost-sharing program that covers some medical services. To be eligible, you must fit into one of the following categories:
- Spouse or child of a veteran rated as permanently and totally disabled from a service-connected disability
- Surviving spouse or child of a veteran who died from a service-connected disability
- Surviving spouse or child of a veteran who was permanently and totally disabled at the time of their death.
Home health care is a CHAMPVA-covered service, although the patient will have a deductible of $50 and a cost-share of 25%.
TRICARE can also cover home health care for spouses or surviving spouses. Surviving spouses can receive TRICARE benefits until they remarry. TRICARE's spousal home care services include skilled nursing care, health aides, social services, and medical therapies, like speech and occupational therapy.
How to Apply for VA In-Home Care
Enrolling in VA health care is the best way to become eligible for community services, like in-home care. Follow these steps to apply for in-home care for veterans.
- Contact Your VA Case Manager: VA case managers connect veterans to resources and programs they may qualify for. Your case manager can help determine if you're eligible for in-home care and, if so, what services you can get.
- Apply to VA Health Care: If you aren't already enrolled in VA health care, you should apply. You can apply by phone, mail, in person, or with the help of a Veterans Service Organization representative. Have your Social Security number, military service information, insurance information, income, and deductible expenses handy for the application.
- Complete VA Form 10-10EC: This form includes all information the VA needs for extended care services, such as your dependents, assets, and income. Your VA case manager can help you complete the form.
Bottom Line
Home care for veterans can include in-home care (nonmedical) and home health care (medical). These services support independent living for as long as possible, offering an alternative to higher levels of support, like assisted living, memory care, or nursing home care. Browse our home care resource hub to learn more about covered services, eligibility, and paying for home care.
VA Home Care Benefits FAQ
Sources
- Calculate the cost of long-term care near you. (2024). CareScout
- CHAMPVA benefits. (2025). U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
- CHAMPVA Guidebook. (2025). U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
- Current pension rates for Veterans. (2024). U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
- Current VA health care copay rates. (2025). U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
- Eligibility for community care outside VA. (2025). U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
- Home and community based services. (2025). U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
- Home Based Primary Care. (2025). U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
- Home health services. (n.d.). Medicare.gov
- How to apply for VA health care. (2024). U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
- Nursing homes, assisted living, and home health care. (2025). U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
- Respite Care. (2025). U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
- Respite Care. (2022). U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
- S.141 - Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act. (2025). Congress.gov
- Skilled Home Health Care. (2025). U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
- Understanding the differences between home health and home care. (n.d.). Excelin Health
- VA Aid and Attendance benefits and Housebound allowance. (2024). U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
- VA Caregiver Support Program. (n.d.). U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
- VA Caregiver Support Program FAQ. (n.d.). Sacramento County Department of Human Assistance
- Veterans Affairs Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers. (n.d.). U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs