Vermont Veterans Home asks state for $10 million as staffing and aging wing squeeze operations

Melissa Jackson, CEO of the Vermont Veterans Home, told the House Government Operations & Military Affairs Committee that the home is requesting about $10,000,000 in general funds for fiscal 2026 to supplement federal and other revenue.

Jackson said the home receives “about $7,600,000 in funding from the VA” annually, and described two distinct types of VA payments: a basic per diem (stated in testimony as “$144.1” for nursing-home care and “$62.20” for domiciliary care) and a full-cost reimbursement that applies to veterans whom the Veterans Administration deems 70% or more service-connected. “For those individuals this $555.55 covers their room and board, medications, medical supplies, physician visits, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy,” Jackson said.

The general-fund request reflects a larger, “all in” budgeting approach this year, Jackson said, explaining that in prior…