Criteria

• To be eligible for nursing-home care benefits, a veteran must meet certain criteria. First, the veteran must be able to show a medical need for nursing-home care, such as documentation from a doctor. Second, he must have a service-connected disability, which means an injury or condition that began while he was serving in the armed forces or a condition that was aggravated by service. Lastly, he must be actively seeking the nursing-home services he needs. To seek approval for services, veterans have to fill out an application and provide any requested documentation.
  
  

Benefits

• If a veteran has a 60 percent service-connected disability and is disabled enough that she cannot work, she may be eligible for some nursing-home services. According to Veteran Journal, a veteran with a 60 percent service-connected disability can receive all the veterans' nursing home care services she needs if she is completely disabled. In some cases, a veteran may be ill with a condition that is not service connected. If she has a service-connected disability rating of 70 percent or higher, she may be eligible for nursing-home care for that condition, despite the fact that it's not service connected. Veterans who do not meet the eligibility guidelines may be approved if space and funding is available. However, priority is given to veterans with service-connected disabilities.
  
  

Ratings

• The VA uses disability ratings to determine how much monetary compensation and which benefits a veteran is eligible to receive. The VA calculates a percentage for each disabling condition a person has, indicating the degree of disability. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, a 0 percent rating means the veteran is not disabled, even if he does have a condition related to his time in the armed forces. A 100 percent disability rating means the veteran is entirely disabled. Higher disability ratings typically translate into more monetary compensation and benefits for the veteran.
  
  

Types

• There are three types of nursing home settings. A veterans' state home is managed by the state in which it is located and receives a portion of its funding from the VA. A community nursing home is one that has signed a contract with the VA to provide approved care to veterans. A nursing home care unit is a nursing home care facility located in a VA-run medical center.
  
  

Costs

• A veteran with any level of service-connected disability status may apply and be approved for nursing-home care. However, those with lower service-connected disability ratings may have to pay co-payments, which can be costly. Those eligible to receive compensation for disabilities that are service related may have their fees paid for them, without making any co-payments.