housingstate

Veterans’ Homes — $0 to $5,549 a Month, and Nothing at All at 70%

Four state veterans’ homes charge a member contribution on a sliding scale from nothing to $5,549 a month, set on income and assets. A veteran rated 70% to 100% service-connected may receive care at no cost.

Verified August 22, 2026

What this benefit is

What it's worth: Member contribution from $0 to $5,549 a month; care at no cost at a 70% to 100% rating

The range is the published monthly contribution annualised — $5,549 a month is $66,588 a year — and it is what a member PAYS at the top of the scale, not what they save. It is shown so the tiers can be compared, not to be added to a household total.
Where the contribution lands depends on income and assets, and the department publishes the scale’s endpoints rather than its steps.
At a 70% to 100% service-connected rating the department states care may be at no cost once the rating is verified and the required level of care meets federal VA criteria — two conditions, not one.

Who is entitled to it

You are the veteran or servicemember.
Spouses and surviving spouses of veterans are eligible, as are Gold Star spouses and parents.
Your discharge is honorable or general.
You are in this state.

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

1Read the residency test carefully before ruling yourself out: the department asks that you have lived in this state for at least two years DURING YOUR LIFETIME. It is not two years immediately before applying, which is what most states require.
2National Guard members with active duty for training are named as eligible on the same residency test.
3Apply either to the home directly or through the county veterans service officer where you live. The service officer route is free and they do this constantly.
4If you are rated 70% or higher, get the rating verified early and ask the home to confirm your required level of care meets the federal criteria. Both have to be true before the no-cost treatment applies.
5Four homes operate: Eastern at Bellevue, Central at Kearney, the Norfolk home, and Western at Scottsbluff. Assisted living, skilled nursing and memory care are all available, so name the level of care you need in the application.

Form: Application for membership
File with: The home directly, or your county veterans service officer
Documents you will need: dd214 · va benefit summary letter
Annual recertification: The office asks you to confirm each year.

CorrectionThe residency requirement is unusually forgiving and is routinely reported as an ordinary two-year rule. The department states two years lived here at any point in your lifetime — so a veteran who grew up here, left for a career and came back at 80 meets it on childhood alone.

Worth knowingGold Star spouses AND Gold Star parents are both named as eligible for membership, which is broader than the spouse-only formula many states use.

Known gapThe statute behind the member contribution could not be read: the legislature’s statute server refused every connection this session. The sliding scale, its endpoints and the no-cost rule are published here on the administering department’s own authority only.

Sources

authority · published policyDepartment of Veterans’ Affairs — Nebraska veterans’ homes: eligibility, locations, services and member contribution
operating · published policyDepartment of Veterans’ Affairs — Veterans’ Homes Board

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