Florida veterans have more options for senior care than many families realize: VA’s own programs, VA payments, a network of state veterans homes, and Florida Medicaid. The trick is knowing how they fit together.
This guide maps each one, with Florida contacts and links to our detailed guides.
VA health care and long-term care in Florida
Florida has seven VA medical centers, in Bay Pines, Gainesville, Lake City, Miami, Orlando, Tampa and West Palm Beach, along with roughly 50 outpatient clinics1. Enrolled veterans can ask a VA social worker at any of them about long-term care: Community Living Centers, community nursing homes under VA contract, Home Based Primary Care, adult day health care, respite and Veteran-Directed Care where available2345.
VA charges no copay for the first 21 days of extended care in a 12-month period; after that, copays depend on service-connected status and income67. For how these programs compare nationally, see our VA senior care guide.
VA payments that help pay for care
| Benefit | Veteran alone | Veteran with spouse | Surviving spouse |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic pension | $17,441 | $22,839 | $11,699 |
| With Housebound | $21,313 | $26,710 | $14,298 |
| With Aid and Attendance | $29,093 | $34,488 | $18,697 |
Rates effective December 1, 2025. VA pays the difference between the maximum and countable income.
Source: VA pension and survivors pension rate tables89.
Florida families use these payments toward every care setting. Our Florida guides walk through each: Aid and Attendance in Florida, assisted living, memory care, home care and nursing homes.
Surviving spouses of veterans who died from a service-connected condition may receive DIC instead, $1,699.36 a month in 2026, plus $421.00 if they need Aid and Attendance10.
Florida state veterans homes
FDVA runs eight skilled nursing homes, in Daytona Beach, Land O’ Lakes, Pembroke Pines, Panama City, Port Charlotte, St. Augustine, Port St. Lucie and Orlando, plus the 150-bed Jenkins Domiciliary assisted living home in Lake City11. Seven nursing homes have memory care units, and a Collier County home has been approved11. Applicants must be Florida residents when they apply and be approved by VA12. VA pays a nursing home per diem of $153.47 a day in fiscal year 202713. See Florida state veterans homes.
Florida Medicaid long-term care
Florida Medicaid helps with long-term care in two main ways1415:
- Institutional Care Program, for nursing home care. The 2026 income limit is $2,982 a month and the asset limit $2,000 for one person15.
- SMMC Long-Term Care, for care at home, in assisted living or in adult day programs, for people 65+ or disabled who meet nursing home level of care. A waitlist is managed by Aging and Disability Resource Centers; call the Elder Helpline at 1-800-96-ELDER.
Florida doesn’t count the Aid and Attendance or Housebound portion of a VA pension as income, but it does count basic pension, and it expects applicants who may qualify for VA pension to apply16. Florida looks back 60 months at asset transfers, compared with VA’s 36 months1718. A spouse at home can keep up to $162,660 in assets15.
Help for family caregivers in Florida
Caregivers of Florida veterans can use VA’s caregiver support program at any medical center, including training, respite and a support line19. Veterans rated 70% or higher who need at least six months of personal care may qualify for the Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers, with a stipend tied to local federal pay rates2021. Paying an aide at home? Florida’s median aide wage was $16.25 an hour in May 202522.
Property tax and other state benefits
Disabled veterans can cut or eliminate property tax on a Florida homestead, from a $5,000 exemption at a 10% rating to full exemption at 100% permanent and total, and veterans 65+ with combat-related disabilities get a percentage discount232425. See property tax exemptions and benefits by rating.
Burial benefits
VA may pay up to $1,032 toward burial and $1,032 toward a plot for a non-service-connected death on or after October 1, 2026, when eligibility rules are met, and up to $2,000 for a service-connected death after September 11, 200126.
Getting free help in Florida
- FDVA State Veterans' Service Officers at the VA regional office at Bay Pines and at VA medical centers27.
- County veteran service officers in every county; FDVA's directory was updated in April 202628.
- Florida Veterans Support Line, 1-844-693-583827.
- Elder Helpline, 1-800-96-ELDER, for Medicaid long-term care and aging services14.