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Con gressios
Informing the legi
tal Rese rch Service
live debate sice 1914
Updated April 20, 2023
The Armed Forces Retirement Home
Since the late 1700s, Congress has established numerous
federal programs to provide housing, housing assistance,
and health care support to certain wounded, ill, or injured
servicemembers, military retirees, and other veterans. Some
of those programs included the establishment of military
asylums for temporarily or permanently disabled
servicemembers. Most military asylums have since closed
or been transferred to the Department of Veterans Affairs
(VA) or state agencies that separately or jointly administer
a variety of residential social support programs. Congress
also later established the Armed Forces Retirement Home
(AFRH) as the only federal military retirement community.
In so doing, AFRH absorbed two previously existing
military asylums, later converted to Department of Defense
(DOD)-affiliated retirement homes that provides residential
care to military retirees and certain other veterans.
Background
The Naval Home
On February 26, 1811, Congress directed the establishment
of Navy hospitals (2 Stat. 650). Then-Secretary of the
Navy, Paul Hamilton, utilized that authority to establish an
interim Navy hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In
1834, the hospital became an asylum, later renamed the
Naval Home, to provide for decrepit and disabled naval
officers, seamen, and Marines. In 1976, the Naval Home
moved to a new permanent site in Gulfport, Mississippi.
The Soldiers' Home and Airmen's Home
On March 3, 1851, Congress directed the establishment of a
Military Asylum for the relief and support of invalid and
disabled Soldiers of the Army of the United States (9 Stat.
595). Washington, D.C., became the location of the primary
asylum. Temporary facilities in Louisiana, Mississippi, and
Kentucky were also established and subsequently closed.
Reorganizing into the AFRH
In 1990, Congress consolidated the two existing military
retirement homes into an independent federal agency
known as the AFRH (P.L. 101-510 §1511) and
subsequently renamed each respective site: AFRH-
Washington (which also houses the headquarters office)
and AFRH-Gulfport.
Purpose & Organization
By law (24 U.S.C. §411), the purpose of the AFRH is to
provide residences and related services for certain retired
and former members of the Armed Forces. A Secretary of
Defense-appointed Chief Executive Officer leads the
AFRH. Chapter 10 of Title 24, U.S. Code, assigns certain
administrative and oversight responsibilities of the AFRH
to DOD. These responsibilities include appointment of
executive staff members and the AFRH Advisory Council,
technical support for clinical and non-clinical functions,
periodic inspections by the DOD Inspector General, and
administrative support.
Eligibility for Residency
Current statute (24 U.S.C. §412) defines eligibility for
AFRH residency. In general, residents must meet one of the
following eligibility requirements:
* discharged or released from military service after 20 or
more years of active service;
* suffering from a service-connected disability (as
determined by the AFRH Chief Operating Officer
[COO]) incurred during military service;
* served in a war theater during a time of war declared by
Congress, or were eligible for hostile fire, imminent
danger, or hazardous duty pay;
* served in a women's component of the Armed Forces
prior to June 12, 1948, and meets certain eligibility
criteria established by the AFRH COO; or
* eligible for non-regular retired pay (i.e., retired
reservist) and is enrolled in VA health benefits,
TRICARE, or a COO-recognized health insurance plan.
Spouses of those meeting the above criteria may also be
eligible for residency on a space-available basis. In fiscal
year (FY) 2022, AFRH reported having a total of 615
residents. Of those, 495 residents (80%) required only
domiciliary care (i.e., independent senior living), while 120
residents (20%) required at least part-time nursing home
care. At maximum capacity, the AFRH can accommodate at
least 1,100 residents.
Retirement Home Services
The AFRH offers five levels of care for eligible residents,
each with varying requirements for non-medical support or
limited skilled nursing care, including:
* Independent Living-residents do not require assistance
with activities of daily living (ADL; i.e.,
hygiene/grooming, medication administration,
ambulating, eating/drinking, or dressing);
* Independent Living Plus-residents require some
assistance with ADL;
* Assisted Living-residents receive regular assistance
with ADL and support by full-time nursing coverage;
* Long-Term Care-residents with a chronic illness or
disability receive full-time nursing coverage and
assistance with ADL;
* Memory Support-residents with cognitive deficiency
receive full-time nursing coverage and assistance with
ADL.
The AFRH does not offer comprehensive nursing home,
long-term acute (inpatient) care, or hospice services. It
partners with local VA medical centers and military
treatment facilities to coordinate additional health care
services for residents.](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.crs/goveljb0001&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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