On January 2, 2025, President Biden Signed Into Law the Dole Act. The Dole Act creates a new pilot program to help aging and disabled veterans, allowing eligible veterans to receive assisted living care paid for by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

The pilot will cover 60 veterans to receive assisted living services in a three-year test by the VA. After being identified as a need for aging veterans in a 2020 report by the Department, this legislation was introduced in 2022 and 2023, before its successful inclusion in the Dole Act.

Stakeholders will continue to engage with the VA to ensure an effective implementation of the pilot program and to support opportunities for expanding long-term care access for veterans in the future.

Special thanks to the advocates at the National Center for Assisted Living (NCAL) who worked with a coalition of partners to ensure that this pilot program was included in the Dole Act!