Boulder City veterans home raising its rates

By Cy Ryan (contact)

Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2010 | 3:23 p.m.

The 165 residents of the Nevada State Veterans Home in Boulder City will see their rates rise by 8 percent after the state Board of Examiners approved the increase today.

Tim Tetz, director of veterans' services, said the cost of living in the home is below other skilled nursing homes in Nevada.

The daily co-pay for a veteran will rise from $101 to $110 a day. The cost for a non-veteran private pay client - qualifying relatives of veterans - will rise from $173 to $187 a day.

The Veterans Service Commission in December supported the proposed increase and representatives of a number of veteran organizations appeared before the examiners board in support of higher charges

Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto, a board member, questioned Tetz on how sure he was this rate increase would not become "unduly burdensome."

Tetz said nobody has been "kicked out" of the home because of problems paying for it. He said other sources of revenue have been found to continue to care for the veteran. The residents and families of the veterans have not been notified yet but they will be informed of the higher rates, he said.

Tetz presented data showing the rate of skilled nursing homes in the Las Vegas Valley has risen from $159 per day in 2004 to $193 in 2009.

Brent Wagner of the Disabled Veterans of Nevada said the higher rates are needed to maintain good service.

The 2009 Legislature approved a budget for $32.3 million for the present biennium with $1 million coming from the state general fund.