Currently our nation is faced with the largest aging veteran population in history. The VA estimates that the number of veterans aged 75 and older has increased from about 2.6 million in 1995 to about 4.9 million in 2005.
We believe the State Home Program will continue to expand its role as an extremely vital asset to the Department of Veterans Affairs in meeting this great challenge. State Veterans Homes, where feasible and on their own initiative, have already taken innovative steps in providing service to meet a broad range of veterans' needs.
What we need is recognition of those efforts through a greater commitment of resources and support by those who share responsibility for our veterans care. Without the integration of all resources, we will fail to meet our moral obligations to our nation's veterans.
Congress should meet its commitment to fund 65 percent of the construction costs for State Veterans Homes. If Congress were to have funded all "Priority Group One" projects as of February 2004, it would have included 70 projects in 26 states. To be ranked as a "Priority Group One" project on the annual priority list of pending state home construction grant applications, the state must certify that state's 35% matching funds are committed to the project.
The VA continues to progress towards increasing its per diem payments to State Veterans Homes, until it is defraying 33 1/3 percent of the average national cost of providing long term care in a State Veterans Home. The current nursing per diem amount is $63.40 and for domiciliary care it is $29.31.
NASVH continues to work towards...
- Increasing VA per diem payments to State Veterans Homes to an amount equivalent to 33 1/3 percent of the national average cost of providing nursing care and domiciliary care in a State Veterans Home.
- Obtaining sufficient federal dollars to fully fund the backlog of approved grant applications and the projected new applications for this year.
- Asking the VA to write and enact regulations and guidelines as quickly as possible for the new possibilities that were passed in the Millennium Health Care Act.