Skilled nursing at home for veterans
A licensed nurse can come to your veteran's home for wound care, IV therapy, injections, catheter care, and close monitoring after an illness or hospital stay — so the trip to a clinic isn't a weekly ordeal. The VA can pay a community agency to do this, but it almost always has to be authorized first.
What skilled nursing at home actually looks like
- Wound and dressing changes, including surgical and pressure wounds
- IV antibiotics, infusions, and injections your veteran can't self-administer
- Catheter, ostomy, and feeding-tube care
- Vital-sign monitoring and early warning when something is heading the wrong way
- Teaching you — the family — how to safely handle care between visits
How the VA pays for skilled nursing at home
There are two main routes, and which one applies depends on where the veteran gets care and what the VA authorizes.
- VA Community Care — the VA authorizes a community home-health agency to provide the nursing, and pays that agency directly. Authorization generally has to come before care starts.
- VA-provided home care — some VA medical centers deliver skilled home care with their own staff or through their own contracts.
- Medicare — many veterans also have Medicare, which covers intermittent skilled nursing at home when a doctor certifies the need and the person is homebound.
- Aid & Attendance — this increased monthly pension isn't tied to a specific service, but it is money that can help cover care the VA doesn't authorize.
What to ask your VA care team
Coverage usually turns on how the request is worded and who makes it. Bring these questions to the VA social worker, care coordinator, or primary care team:
- Does my veteran qualify for home health care through the VA, and is it available from VA staff or through Community Care?
- Can you place a consult or referral for skilled home nursing, and who authorizes it?
- Will care be authorized before it starts, so we never receive a bill?
- How many visits are authorized, and what do we do when the authorization runs out?
- If my veteran also has Medicare, which one should cover this?
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Get home-health careCommon questions
Will my veteran be billed for home nursing?
Not if the care is authorized by the VA before it begins and delivered by an approved provider — the VA pays the agency directly. Problems almost always come from care that started without authorization, which is why the referral step matters so much. Always confirm authorization first.
Can we use our own home-health agency?
Often yes, if the agency is part of the VA's community care network and the VA authorizes it. Ask your VA care team whether the agency you want is in network, and let us know — we can help you sort it out.
How is this different from a home health aide?
Skilled nursing is clinical care that must be done by a licensed nurse. A home health aide helps with bathing, dressing, and daily personal care. Many veterans need both, and they're authorized separately.
Does my veteran have to be homebound?
For Medicare-covered home health, a doctor generally must certify that leaving home takes considerable effort. VA pathways look at clinical need and access rather than applying Medicare's homebound test the same way. Ask the VA team which pathway they're using.
Related guides
If a veteran is in crisis, call the Veterans Crisis Line: dial 988, then press 1. Available 24/7.
SoCal Home Health is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. This is free educational information, not legal or benefits advice, and not a determination of eligibility. Accredited Veterans Service Officers help you file claims at no charge — you should never have to pay for help applying for VA benefits.