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The Eight Minnesota Veterans Homes

Skilled nursing, memory care and domiciliary care across eight state homes. What you pay is your chargeable income up to the cost of care — and the federal VA per diem is deducted from your bill, not the state’s.

Verified August 22, 2026

What this benefit is

Skilled nursing, memory care and domiciliary care across eight state homes. What you pay is your chargeable income up to the cost of care — and the federal VA per diem is deducted from your bill, not the state’s.

What it's worth: A maintenance charge set by your income, capped at the cost of care

  • Minn. R. 9050.0500 sets the mechanism: the cost of care is calculated annually from direct and indirect costs, and the monthly bill is the resident’s chargeable income up to that full cost.
  • The same rule requires the charge to be reduced by the per diem the federal VA pays on the resident’s behalf — so the federal subsidy comes off what you owe rather than simply funding the home.
  • There is no published rate card to quote: the charge is a calculation on your income, not a price.

Who is entitled to it

  • You are a veteran, or the spouse or surviving spouse of one.
  • The discharge was honorable, or general under honorable conditions.
  • Your home is in Minnesota.

Not sure whether that describes you?

Answer a few questions about this benefit specifically — we only ask what this one actually depends on, and we stop as soon as we know.

How to claim it

  1. 1Check the service test first: 181 consecutive days of active duty, unless you were discharged earlier because of a disability incurred in the line of duty, with a discharge under honorable conditions.
  2. 2You must be a current Minnesota resident, and you must require skilled nursing care — the homes are not independent living.
  3. 3A spouse or surviving spouse applies in their own right but must be at least 55 and meet the residency requirement.
  4. 4Settle any unpaid bill from a previous stay in a facility run by the commissioner before applying — an outstanding maintenance debt keeps an applicant off the active waiting list.
  5. 5Choose among Bemidji, Fergus Falls, Hastings, Luverne, Minneapolis, Montevideo, Preston and Silver Bay; the levels of care offered are not identical.
Form
Application for admission
File with
The Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs, for the home you are applying to
Documents you will need
dd214
No renewal
Once granted it does not need renewing.
Worth knowingThe federal per diem is deducted from the resident’s maintenance charge under Minn. R. 9050.0500. That is worth knowing before you apply: a veteran whose federal entitlement is unresolved is leaving money on their own bill, not the state’s.
Worth knowingMoney earned in a work therapy programme while resident is not counted as means of support, and neither are federal or state tax rebates — §198.03 says so directly.
Known gapThe homes list eight locations but do not publish which levels of care each offers in a form we could read end to end. Ask MDVA which home offers the care you need before choosing one on distance.

Sources

This finder provides an informational match, not a government eligibility determination. The responsible agency decides your application.