View all text of Chapter 55 [§ 5501 - § 5510]
§ 5503. Hospitalized veterans and estates of incompetent institutionalized veterans
(a)
(1)
(A) Where any veteran having neither spouse nor child is being furnished domiciliary care by the Department, no pension in excess of $90 per month shall be paid to or for the veteran for any period after the end of the third full calendar month following the month of admission for such care.
(B) Except as provided in subparagraph (D) of this paragraph, where any veteran having neither spouse nor child is being furnished nursing home care by the Department, no pension in excess of $90 per month shall be paid to or for the veteran for any period after the end of the third full calendar month following the month of admission for such care. Any amount in excess of $90 per month to which the veteran would be entitled but for the application of the preceding sentence shall be deposited in a revolving fund at the Department medical facility which furnished the veteran nursing care, and such amount shall be available for obligation without fiscal year limitation to help defray operating expenses of that facility.
(C) No pension in excess of $90 per month shall be paid to or for a veteran having neither spouse nor child for any period after the month in which such veteran is readmitted for care described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of this paragraph and furnished by the Department if such veteran is readmitted within six months of a period of care in connection with which pension was reduced pursuant to subparagraph (A) or (B) of this paragraph.
(D) In the case of a veteran being furnished nursing home care by the Department and with respect to whom subparagraph (B) of this paragraph requires a reduction in pension, such reduction shall not be made for a period of up to three additional calendar months after the last day of the third month referred to in such subparagraph if the Secretary determines that the primary purpose for the furnishing of such care during such additional period is for the Department to provide such veteran with a prescribed program of rehabilitation services, under chapter 17 of this title, designed to restore such veteran’s ability to function within such veteran’s family and community. If the Secretary determines that it is necessary, after such period, for the veteran to continue such program of rehabilitation services in order to achieve the purposes of such program and that the primary purpose of furnishing nursing home care to the veteran continues to be the provision of such program to the veteran, the reduction in pension required by subparagraph (B) of this paragraph shall not be made for the number of calendar months that the Secretary determines is necessary for the veteran to achieve the purposes of such program.
(2) The provisions of paragraph (1) shall also apply to a veteran being furnished such care who has a spouse but whose pension is payable under section 1521(b) of this title. In such a case, the Secretary may apportion and pay to the spouse, upon an affirmative showing of hardship, all or any part of the amounts in excess of the amount payable to the veteran while being furnished such care which would be payable to the veteran if pension were payable under section 1521(c) of this title.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section or any other provision of law, no reduction shall be made in the pension of any veteran for any part of the period during which the veteran is furnished hospital treatment, or institutional or domiciliary care, for Hansen’s disease, by the United States or any political subdivision thereof.
(c) Where any veteran in receipt of an aid and attendance allowance described in subsection (r) or (t) of section 1114 of this title is hospitalized at Government expense, such allowance shall be discontinued from the first day of the second calendar month which begins after the date of the veteran’s admission for such hospitalization for so long as such hospitalization continues. Any discontinuance required by administrative regulation, during hospitalization of a veteran by the Department, of increased pension based on need of regular aid and attendance or additional compensation based on need of regular aid and attendance as described in subsection (l) or (m) of section 1114 of this title, shall not be effective earlier than the first day of the second calendar month which begins after the date of the veteran’s admission for hospitalization. In case a veteran affected by this subsection leaves a hospital against medical advice and is thereafter admitted to hospitalization within six months from the date of such departure, such allowance, increased pension, or additional compensation, as the case may be, shall be discontinued from the date of such readmission for so long as such hospitalization continues., shall not be effective earlier than the first day of the second calendar month which begins after the date of the veteran’s admission for hospitalization. In case a veteran affected by this subsection leaves a hospital against medical advice and is thereafter admitted to hospitalization within six months from the date of such departure, such allowance, increased pension, or additional compensation, as the case may be, shall be discontinued from the date of such readmission for so long as such hospitalization continues.
(d)
(1) For the purposes of this subsection—
(A) the term “Medicaid plan” means a State plan for medical assistance referred to in section 1902(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396a(a)); and
(B) the term “nursing facility” means a nursing facility described in section 1919 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1396r), other than a facility that is a State home with respect to which the Secretary makes per diem payments for nursing home care pursuant to section 1741(a) of this title.
(2) If a veteran having neither spouse nor child is covered by a Medicaid plan for services furnished such veteran by a nursing facility, no pension in excess of $90 per month shall be paid to or for the veteran for any period after the month of admission to such nursing facility.
(3) Notwithstanding any provision of title XIX of the Social Security Act, the amount of the payment paid a nursing facility pursuant to a Medicaid plan for services furnished a veteran may not be reduced by any amount of pension permitted to be paid such veteran under paragraph (2) of this subsection.
(4) A veteran is not liable to the United States for any payment of pension in excess of the amount permitted under this subsection that is paid to or for the veteran by reason of the inability or failure of the Secretary to reduce the veteran’s pension under this subsection unless such inability or failure is the result of a willful concealment by the veteran of information necessary to make a reduction in pension under this subsection.
(5)
(A) The provisions of this subsection shall apply with respect to a surviving spouse having no child in the same manner as they apply to a veteran having neither spouse nor child.
(B) The provisions of this subsection shall apply with respect to a child entitled to pension under section 1542 of this title in the same manner as they apply to a veteran having neither spouse nor child.
(6) The costs of administering this subsection shall be paid for from amounts available to the Department of Veterans Affairs for the payment of compensation and pension.
(7) This subsection expires on November 30, 2031.
(Pub. L. 85–857, Sept. 2, 1958, 72 Stat. 1234, § 3203; Pub. L. 86–146, §§ 1(b), 2, Aug. 7, 1959, 73 Stat. 298; Pub. L. 86–211, § 6, Aug. 29, 1959, 73 Stat. 435; Pub. L. 87–544, § 1, July 25, 1962, 76 Stat. 208; Pub. L. 87–556, § 1, July 27, 1962, 76 Stat. 245; Pub. L. 87–645, § 2(b), Sept. 7, 1962, 76 Stat. 441; Pub. L. 88–450, § 5(a), Aug. 19, 1964, 78 Stat. 504; Pub. L. 89–362, §§ 1, 2, Mar. 7, 1966, 80 Stat. 30; Pub. L. 91–24, § 10, June 11, 1969, 83 Stat. 34; Pub. L. 92–328, title I, § 104, June 30, 1972, 86 Stat. 394; Pub. L. 93–177, § 5, Dec. 6, 1973, 87 Stat. 696; Pub. L. 95–588, title III, § 307, Nov. 4, 1978, 92 Stat. 2510; Pub. L. 96–385, title V, § 503(b), Oct. 7, 1980, 94 Stat. 1534; Pub. L. 97–66, title VI, § 602, Oct. 17, 1981, 95 Stat. 1034; Pub. L. 98–160, title VII, § 703(4), Nov. 21, 1983, 97 Stat. 1010; Pub. L. 98–543, title IV, § 402(a), Oct. 24, 1984, 98 Stat. 2749; Pub. L. 99–576, title VII, § 701(77), Oct. 28, 1986, 100 Stat. 3298; Pub. L. 101–237, title I, § 111(a), Dec. 18, 1989, 103 Stat. 2064; Pub. L. 101–508, title VIII, § 8003(a), Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat. 1388–342; renumbered § 5503 and amended Pub. L. 102–40, title III, § 304(a), title IV, § 402(b)(1), May 7, 1991, 105 Stat. 209, 238; Pub. L. 102–83, §§ 4(a)(2)(A)(x), (3), (4), (b)(1), (2)(E), 5(c)(1), Aug. 6, 1991, 105 Stat. 403–406; Pub. L. 102–86, title I, § 101(a), Aug. 14, 1991, 105 Stat. 414; Pub. L. 102–568, title VI, § 601(a)–(c), Oct. 29, 1992, 106 Stat. 4341; Pub. L. 103–66, title XII, § 12005, Aug. 10, 1993, 107 Stat. 414; Pub. L. 105–33, title VIII, § 8015, Aug. 5, 1997, 111 Stat. 664; Pub. L. 105–368, title IX, § 904(a), Nov. 11, 1998, 112 Stat. 3361; Pub. L. 106–419, title III, § 304, title IV, § 402(e), Nov. 1, 2000, 114 Stat. 1853, 1863; Pub. L. 107–103, title II, § 204(a), title V, § 504, Dec. 27, 2001, 115 Stat. 990, 995; Pub. L. 111–275, title VI, §§ 601(b)(2), 606, 607, Oct. 13, 2010, 124 Stat. 2884, 2886; Pub. L. 112–56, title II, § 262, Nov. 21, 2011, 125 Stat. 732; Pub. L. 112–260, title II, § 203, Jan. 10, 2013, 126 Stat. 2424; Pub. L. 113–146, title VII, § 703, Aug. 7, 2014, 128 Stat. 1797; Pub. L. 115–46, title IV, § 401, Aug. 12, 2017, 131 Stat. 969; Pub. L. 115–182, title V, § 509, June 6, 2018, 132 Stat. 1480; Pub. L. 116–315, title II, § 2013, Jan. 5, 2021, 134 Stat. 4980; Pub. L. 117–333, § 16, Jan. 5, 2023, 136 Stat. 6135.)