According to an August 21, 2017, press release
from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Dr. David J. Shulkin,
the VA plans to propose changes to regulations for its State Veterans Home
Construction Grant Program to make it easier to for states to receive VA
funding to construct Veterans homes in rural areas.
State Veterans Homes provide Veterans with
nursing home, domiciliary or adult day health care and are owned, operated and
managed by state governments. The VA statement notes the following:
“Currently,
the construction grant regulations focus on Veteran demographics as well as
nursing home and domiciliary bed need within a State, when determining priority
group placement based on projected demand for assistance. Unfortunately,
this makes it difficult for some rural areas to compete for VA State Home
Construction Grants. In highly rural areas, there could be a 500-mile
distance from one State Veterans Home to the next, which gives family members
limited options when searching for a conveniently located facility for a
Veteran family member. By incorporating a consideration for the need of
Veterans in rural areas into the ranking priorities for grant applications in
the regulations, rural States may find it easier to compete for the limited VA
construction grant funding that is available.”
VA anticipates that the revision of
these regulations will be completed by the end of the 2017 calendar year. The updated regulations will be available for public comment.The
statement also noted that the VA is working to ensure that the updated
regulations go into effect as soon as possible.
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